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| >> Campfire Creative >> Fiction >> Sci-fi >> ID #1742707 |   |
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[Introduction]
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 .Wolfie.  .one. “Do you believe in God?” Frank Stark asks. “Oh Jesus fucking Christ, are we really having this conversation again?” Evangeline spits the words out into the dust and she doesn’t even look at her brother when she says it. She sits on the roof of their battered and rusted old jeep and she smokes her cigar like she’s pissed at it. She blows the smoke out into the hot air, her mask hanging around her neck and goggles high on her forehead. Her blonde hair came from a bottle and it’s pulled back in a messy braid, wisps of it escaping around her face. Her eyes are pale and green and they watch the desert for any sign of someone coming. No one does. There is no one out here but the freaks. Frank laughs quietly and he doesn’t get offended. He never does, not at his family anyway, but he brings it up anyway. “I’m just asking,” he says. His arms are braced on either side of the jeep, his eyes focused on the engine. He is covered in dirt and oil and sweat, his curling dark hair pulled back out of his rugged face in a ponytail. His face is rough and covered in stubble and he makes it worse when he wipes an arm across his eyes to try and get rid of the sweat. “Do you believe in God?” “Fuck, Frankie, you already know what she’s going to say.” Adrian rolls his head against the side of the vehicle. His back is pressed against the right front tire and he looks like shit. He looks like he’s dying and that’s probably because he is. His face is pale, eyes sunken and dark in his head. He gets chills sometimes. They make his whole body shake and it’s the only time anyone sees anything nice or sweet out of Evan. When the trembling gets bad she’ll wrap her arms around his chest and hold his head to her shoulder until they pass. No one calls her on it because that’s her twin and he’s dying a piece at a time thanks to the disease that settled in his bones. They’re not sure why he got sick and the others didn’t. They’re not sure why his veins are turning black or just how long he has before he dies or turns into one of the freaks. “I believe in God,” Nicky says. Evan glances at him, puffing smoke out between her lips and her eyes narrow into a glare. He is standing in the middle of the road, playing with his gun like he’s a fucking cowboy or something. He keeps putting it in its holster and then drawing it as fast as he can, mouthing a quiet ‘bang’ when he points off down the broken asphalt road. His hair falls in his eyes and it’s a fake, peroxide blonde that’s only that color because his big sister did it first. “He’s kind of a prick though.” “You only say that because it’s what Frankie wants to hear,” Evan tells him. Her voice is rough and she pulls the cigar out of her mouth, blowing a plume of smoke in his direction before she points the stogie at him. “Tip for you, just because Frankie tells you he shits rainbows doesn’t mean you should start digging through it for a pot of gold.” “Leave the kid alone,” Adrian says. His eyes close and he tips his head up towards the sun like he’s trying to soak in all the warmth he can. He shivers like he’s cold, even though it’s over a hundred degrees in the desert. That’s why their fucking jeep overheated. “Evan,” Frank says, and she sighs, rolling her eyes as she looks at the top of her older brother’s head. “Do you believe in God?” “No,” she tells him. She pulls her knife out of its sheath at her side and cuts the tip off her cigar. “And neither do you.” “Sure I do,” he says. The man sighs, screwing the radiator cap back on and taking a step back from the engine. He wipes the grim and dirt off his hands with a bandanna he keeps in his back pocket and when he is satisfied he slams the hood shut. When that’s done he finally looks up at his little sister, walking around the side of the car to stand in front of her. “I absolutely believe there’s a God. He is our father and we are his children.” He grins and then he reaches forward to pull the cigar from her dangling fingers. Evan frowns, glaring at him as he puts it between his teeth. “And I believe that our father who art in heaven has fucking forsaken us.” “Here we go again,” Adrian says. He doesn’t open his eyes. He keeps his head against the hot metal and his hands are resting loosely on his knees. There is sweat dripping from the end of his nose but he keeps his coat on. There are goggles sitting on his forehead and he reaches up to pull them down over his eyes like it can somehow shut out the conversation. “That’s why we’re going home,” Nicky says. He is too cheerful when he says it and Evan shoots him a nasty look because she doesn’t need him encouraging his older brother. He twirls the gun in his hand before holstering it and Evan growls. She jumps down off the side of the jeep, ignoring her eldest brother who just watches her with that same calculating, amused smile that he watches everything. He thinks too much. He philosophizes too much. He used to read too much but they only have two books with them and he’s already got them memorized. The Bible and the Art of War. They sit in the glove box and he reads them religiously every night around the campfire, like he’ll have some grand epiphany from it. All of it is just to justify why he can gun a man down and never bat an eye. He doesn’t feel guilty about it later. He’ll say a prayer for him, but it’s only so the dead man’s soul can tell God his name when he gets to the pearly gates. He’s a fucking sociopath and his family knows it but they let him get away with it because he’s Frankie, end of story. “Give me that fucking thing before you shoot your foot off,” Evan snaps. She grabs his wrist and twists it with a quick motion, ripping the gun from his fingers and shoving him away. She spins it open and starts to dump all the bullets into her hand. “God lives,” Frank says. He pulls open the passenger door and stashes his tools back in the glove box, wiping his hands off on his already stained shirt. It used to be white, but nothing stays clean in the desert. The dust storms make sure of that. He grabs his brown cowboy hat off the passenger mirror and puts it back on his head, drawing a silver crucifix from around his neck so that he can press his lips to it. “He lives and we must remind him we are here so that he knows our names and grants us passage into heaven.” Evan is tired of this conversation already. She pockets the bullets and wraps Nicky in a headlock. He lets out a surprised shout that turns into a laugh, struggling against his sister’s arm. She grins across the road at Frankie and she wonders if he ever gets pissed off or if she can manage to make him that way. “If there’s really a God, and he really lives, then he ain’t fucking living out here.” Frank smiles, her stogie still between his lips. He doesn’t care that she is glaring at him as he lights it up, puffing smoke out between his chapped lips. “That’s why we’re going home,” he tells her, and she can’t really argue with that. Adrian laughs and it is quiet and sad. “You really think when he hears our names he’ll let us into heaven?” “Maybe not,” he says. “But at least he’ll know who we are and that we were here.” Frank watches him for a moment and then he smiles, putting a hand on the top of his head and mussing his hair. Adrian shoves him away but he still doesn’t open his eyes. His teeth are starting to chatter and when he’s done his hand rises to scratch at his chest where the sickness is settling into his lungs. Evan shoves Nicky in the backseat and then crawls in after him because she doesn’t want to sit up front with Frank. Adrian is still lying against the side of the car but when he hears the door slam he cracks one eye, running his thumb over the plastic goggle to try and get half of his vision clear. Frank climbs in behind the wheel and the thing balks and shudders when he starts it up because it is held together by sloppy welds and duct tape. One of these days it’s going to fall apart. It’s done it before and Evan’s not excited for it to happen again, but the thing has pulled them through some rough times and rougher road blocks. Adrian crawls into the passenger seat, kicking his feet up on the dashboard as soon as he does. Dirt flakes off the bottom of his boots and onto the floor but no one cares because everything out here is covered in dirt. This is the world now. Evan can’t remember the last time she saw the rain. She doesn’t know what the world looked like before the bombs fell and disease spread like wildfire. She doesn’t know what it looked like before most of the world got turned into a wasteland. The cities are the only places left that don’t look like this. They’re the only places without freaks and that’s because everything is regulated there. They decide who can have babies and who can’t because the scientists that took over make sure of that. No one wants free range newborns anymore because half of them are born freaks. They’re born mutants and that’s a fate worse than death. They keep the windows open while they drive and it doesn’t do much to cool the inside but it feels nice. She reaches back and pulls the canvas off the trunk and tips her head out so she can look up at the sky. It’s bright and it’s blue and it’s cloudless. She wonders what the rain looks like. It rained sometimes in the city, but that’s because the scientists made it. They are going home. That’s where they’ve been going for years, but all they have to run on are rumors. No one’s sure which way Electric City is. Sometimes it’s north, sometimes it’s south, sometimes it’s across the fucking ocean. They know it’s not that one. They were there once, and if there is a God he’ll make sure dad is still there too. Evan thinks about him while they drive and then she thinks about mom but she stops that after a while because she’s already dead. Maybe she told God their names. “I have to piss,” Nicky says. He doesn’t look like he has to piss. He’s sprawled out on the seat next to her and he’s still playing with his gun even though she took his bullets. He glances up at her after he speaks and he grins like he’s read her mind, reaching down to get the case at his feet. “Did you hear me?” he says, turning his head to look at Frankie. “I said I have to piss.” “Piss in a bottle,” Frank tells him. “If we stop she’ll overheat.” He doesn’t even turn around and Nicky frowns, ducking his head to look down at his gun. He is a little clumsy as he loads the weapon and she thinks that he still hasn’t killed his first man. “Come on Frank,” Nicky whines. “Just stop for two minutes so that I can piss. I swear I’ll be quick.” Evan watches him as his fingers slip and drop a bullet on the floor. She picks it up and starts to roll it over her knuckles, turning her head out the window. It ruffles her blonde hair and she reaches up to pull the goggles over her eyes. They make the world a darker, blurrier place but it keeps the dirt out of her eyes and the sun from blinding her. Just like the masks on their faces keep their lungs from filling with sand and choking them to death. Everyone out here wears a mask. But then, everyone in the city does too, they just don’t know it. There are three kinds of people out in the wasteland. There’s the first that tries to scrape a living by like normal folk. Some of them never left their little towns and they pretend like everything’s going to be okay in the end. They set up buildings and shops and scrape by on whatever’s left in the town well and lie to themselves that if they just keep their laws and their humanity then someday salvation will come. They’re all suckers and they get ripped apart by the second kind of folk. Those are the bandits. They’re the thieves and the killers and the scavengers and they don’t live by anyone’s laws anymore. They’re the kind that normal people are scared of because they’ve been known to rip towns apart, killing everyone to take what they want. The Starks fall into that category. Evan’s not proud of it, but it is what it is. The last kind everyone’s afraid of. Those are the freaks. Just say the word ‘mutant’ in any of the towns left and see what people do. “Two minutes that’ll turn into two hours when we have to cool her down again,” Adrian says. His voice rasps painfully as it comes out of his throat and Evan glances at the back of his head. He has his hands over his eyes and he is shaking in his seat. Her gaze falls and for a moment she meets Frankie’s gaze in the mirror. He nods his head to the side but she doesn’t need him to tell her. Her arms slide around the back of the seat and she grasps her brother’s hand tightly, pressing their clenched fists to his chest. She rests her head on the back of the chair and she starts to sing quietly under her breath to him. She feels him squeeze her hand gratefully back. “But I really have to piss,” Nicky whines. Wenston He doesn’t have a name. Or at least if he does, he doesn’t remember it. He has a number now and it’s tattooed on the side of his neck. CC380296-B. He’s not sure what it stands for, but no one calls him by his number anyway. They normally don’t call him anything, or if they do, it’s simply CC. He doesn’t mind. He just wishes he could remember what his name was. There’s a digital set of cuffs around his wrists with a coded lock in the middle. Getting them on and off required a twelve digit passcode that changed on a daily basis. CC thought it was an ineffective way to try and secure the cuffs. If they were smart, they would require a new passcode be generated every use, not every day. All it took was for one of the scientists to punch in the code for the day and CC knew what it was. He didn’t even have to see them do it. He only had to hear it. The buttons had specific tones. CC found it ironic and cruel that he had a photographic memory and couldn’t remember a thing about himself before he woke up in the laboratory. But since waking up, he could remember just about everything. He’d memorized and could recite entire books. He could remember every single person he’d ever met, what day he’d met them, what shirt they’d been wearing, and what they’d talked about. He remembered codes and numbers no matter how long they were and the only reason he didn’t have Pi memorized was because it was infinite. The last digit he’d been up to in Pi was 1,429. The scientists didn’t allow him to go further and it had always bothered him because he wanted to know what digit 1,430 was. He bet it was a good number. The only thing CC couldn’t remember since waking up in the laboratory was his nighttimes. At first, he’d just assumed it was because he slept at night. The scientists put him to bed and woke him in the morning and anything that happened in between was void and he’d always thought it was because he was asleep. That’s probably what they wanted him to believe. But they’d made a mistake. They’d left scars with what they’d done. CC hadn’t noticed at first, because his body had been foreign and unfamiliar to him when he’d first woken up. He didn’t look at himself that often, they normally kept him busy during the day. But when his scars didn’t match what he’d previously known himself to have one day, he knew. He knew they did things at night. He didn’t know why he didn’t remember, but no matter what he tried, he never remembered. “You ever been to Electric City?” the man driving the armored vehicle asked. CC knew by now that they weren’t talking to him. They never talked to him. He was property to them, nothing more. It didn’t bother him. He liked keeping to himself and being quiet. A man wearing dark armor sat next to him and he snorted at the question. “Made another delivery there once,” he said, sounding proud of himself. CC wondered why that would be something to be proud of. Making deliveries didn’t seem so hard. “Another specimen. Guess she didn’t work out, or they wouldn’t be asking for this one, huh? It’s too bad, really, she was a cute little thing. Blonde.” He snorted and turned his head to look at CC, who kept his eyes on the floor. He never made eye contact. They didn’t get mad if he kept his eyes averted. “Just like this one.” The man driving snorted back. “Huh, maybe it’s got something to do with their genes or something.” “Yeah maybe,” the man said, shrugging as he leaned back on the bench he was seated on. CC looked towards the back of the vehicle. The door latch was coded too. He wondered if they changed those codes daily too. If they did, he knew what it was. Maybe he should say something to one of the scientists when they reached this new city. They may want to know their security was lacking in efficiency. The vehicle suddenly lurched and CC sucked in a harsh breath as he was thrown off the bench, towards the opposite side of the vehicle. The guard who’d been seated next to him flung that way too. There was a loud bang and then the vehicle was fishtailing and coming to a stop. Up front, the driver was swearing and cursing. CC wasn’t used to the words, but he was curious to know their meaning. Growling, the guard next to him reached up towards a square container on the side of the vehicle. He pulled out two black masks and put one over his own head before he threw the second one at CC. “Put that on,” he commanded. CC reached forward with his cuffed hands and picked the mask up. He was used to working with his hands cuffed, so putting the mask on was no problem. The guard pulled a pair of goggles down over his eyes and stood up. “Stay here,” he added. “We blew a tire,” the driver said over his shoulder. “I didn’t think these tires could blow.” “They can’t,” the guard said. “Unless you know how. We’re probably being ambushed.” The driver’s eyes widened and he looked scared and panicked, his eyes darting to CC and then back to the guard. “Really? Shit, what are we gonna do?” The guard moved to the back of the vehicle and punched the code into the door lock. He turned back around and pulled his helmet down. “Kill or be killed,” he said and then kicked the doors open. Immediately, CC was assaulted with a gust of wind that brought in harsh, rough sand. It scraped across his skin and he wasn’t used to it. He pulled up the green military jacket he wore and covered his face with it, glancing back at the driver. The man was looking out the front window, muttering prayers beneath his breath. Several sharp noises sounded at once. It made the driver jump and CC lowered his jacket a little, trying to peer through the blowing sand and out into the world they’d been traveling through. He’d never been out here. Or at least he didn’t remember if he had. He couldn’t see that far, but he could make out the silhouettes of people fighting. There was another loud pop and one of the people dropped. The other stood still for a moment before stalking towards the vehicle. They ran the last leg of it and hopped up into the back of it. It wasn’t the guard. It was a young man with crazy brown hair sticking up. He had a bandana around his forehead, goggles over his eyes and a mask over his face. He pulled the goggles up and his skin was stained with sand where his face had been exposed. “Hello loves!” he said, laughing manically. The driver up front let out a cry. “Oh lord Jesus in Heaven, protect me from these bandits…” he cried out. The man who’d entered the vehicle snorted and then aimed his pistol at the driver. One shot splattered the man’s brains across the dash and window. CC wondered if that made him sad. He’d barely known that driver. But it was always a shame when someone died. He turned back to look at the man, who was now pointing the pistol at him. He frowned and glanced at the cuffs around his wrists. “You a felon or something, fella?” he asked. From outside, another voice called. “Damien! Let’s go! Sandstorms getting bad!” The man didn’t acknowledge that he’d heard his counterpart. CC glanced to the door and almost told him that his friend was trying to speak to him, but then the man kicked at CC’s boot. He looked down at himself and then back up. “I asked if you was a felon,” he snapped. “I am property of the Corporation,” he said, his voice gravelly and emotionless. The man laughed, holding on to the top of the vehicle and swinging for a bit before he nodded like he’d made up his mind about something. “Alright then, property. I bet I could sell you for something. Let’s go.” CC nodded his head and stood. The man looked somewhat surprised that he was moving on his own without being forced to and CC wondered if people were normally rude when the man asked them to do something. The man laughed and as CC stepped out of the vehicle and into the blowing sand, he slapped him on the back. “Something’s wrong with you, fella.” .Wolfie. “In peace, prepare for war, in war, prepare for peace,” Frank says, his voice thoughtful and distant. Frankie’s always got something to say and Evan rolls her eyes because she knows its something from those stupid fucking books of his. He is standing a little ways away from her, toeing at a body on the ground. The man isn’t wearing anything because whoever put the bullet through his head stripped him of his clothes and his weapons. Adrian is over by the driver’s side door of a transport truck because it’s hanging open and a second naked body is dangling from the seat. He frowns and glances over his shoulder towards Frank. He snorts but he doesn’t say anything, looking past the dead man into the truck. There’s probably nothing in there. Anyone who would go through the trouble of knocking over a city truck isn’t going to leave anything useful behind. “That’s stupid,” Evan says, because no one else does. She has a sawed off shotgun slung over her shoulder and she makes her way over to Frank so that she can look at the body too. He is unremarkable except for being dead. The sand is already filling his eyes and his mouth and Evan adjusts the mask on her face because the wind is picking up and a storm is getting closer. “How do you prepare for peace? Are you supposed to put your fucking gun down because if you ask me that’s just looking for trouble.” Frank laughs, crouching by the body. “That, my dear sister, is because you’ve only lived during war.” He reaches a hand out and slides the man’s eyelids closed and anyone looking would think he almost gave a shit. They would think he actually felt bad that there were two dead men lying in the desert. He doesn’t. What he feels bad about is that they didn’t get there first. “Where do you think they were going?” Nicky asks. He’s peering in the back of the truck, twirling the revolver in his hand because no matter how many bodies he’s seen he still hasn’t taken a life and the dumb shit still thinks guns are toys. Adrian snorts. “Where the fuck do you think they were going? It’s a city vehicle, kid.” His hands are steady as they pull at the wires dangling from the dashboard. They won’t be for long, but for the moment his fit has passed and he looks something like normal again. He looks like Evan’s twin brother and they can both pretend that he just gets sick sometimes and it doesn’t mean he’s dying. It doesn’t mean that she’s losing her brother a little more every day. “I know that, Adrian,” Nicky says. “But what city do you think it was going to? Electric?” He’s narrowing his eyes at Adrian but whenever he tries to look mad it just comes off like a pout and Evan’s grinning behind her mask. “Well kid, I would love to tell you, but whoever jacked this thing took the GPS out of it.” Adrian leans back out of the truck, hopping back down to the dirt and wiping his hands off on his pants. Blood and dirt get smeared across the fabric in equal parts and then suddenly he’s coughing, his hand shooting out to rest against the side of the truck while they rip through his body. He trembles as they tear up his throat and out into the air. He reaches up to pull the mask down and something dark and wet splatters across the ground. Nicky is watching with wide and scared eyes, the gun stilling in his hand. He glances at Evan but she doesn’t need the look because she’s already moving across the ground. She crouches in front of Adrian, one hand gripping his shoulder and the other wiping off his lips. She doesn’t ask if he’s okay. It’s a stupid question and they all already know the answer. “It means that you should fight your battles with the end in sight,” Frank says. He’s still crouched by the body, turning the head from side to side as he studies it. “It means that every battle should be fought with victory already in mind.” “That’s not what it means,” Evan snaps. “You don’t even know what it means,” She doesn’t even glance back, squeezing Adrian’s shoulder harder as he straightens up. He waves her off, wiping a hand across his mouth and looking down at it with disgust. Then he pulls the mask up over his face. Evan watches him as he walks back towards his little brother, his arm slinging around Nicky’s shoulders and putting him in a rough headlock, his knuckles scrubbing across the top of his head. “Besides,” she adds, finally looking over at Frank. He is still crouched by the body but he’s not even looking at it. “You like war.” “I like victory.” Frank laughs and his smile is bright and honest. His gaze is roaming over the desert and she follows his gaze. There are tracks through the dirt but they are getting washed away quickly by the wind and the constantly shifting sand. He studies it with his eyes while his fingers move on their own, pulling out his papers and his tobacco to wrap himself a cigarette. “Me too,” Nicky says. Adrian still has him in a headlock as he drags him back over towards them but the kid still manages to smile. “How would you know?” Evan asks him. “When was the last time you won in a fight?” “I’ve been in fights,” he says. He struggles against Adrian and his older brother finally lets him go, pushing him across the sand. He stumbles but he’s still smiling, twirling the gun in his hand before he points it at Evan. “I’ve been in lots of fights.” “Don’t point that thing at family,” Adrian snaps. His hand comes up and pulls the gun away from Nicky by the barrel, slapping him in the back of the head. The kid flinches and ducks his head as his brother shoves the gun back at his chest and then Adrian is walking past all of them, climbing into the back of the jeep. Evan watches him and she feels sick and she wonders if there’s really a cure. “We need to find who did this,” Frank says. He lights the end of his cigarette with his lighter and then he leans down to blow smoke across his face. “Unless you want to speak up and tell me where you were headed.” When the body doesn’t answer him he just snorts and finally pushes himself to his feet. “Tracks look like they’re headed north. Can’t be too far out, since there was anything left of them at all. If we hurry we should catch up to them by nightfall.” “Will the GPS tell us how to get back to dad?” Nicky asks. He’s still rubbing the back of his head, holstering his gun with his other hand. The question is so innocent that Evan bites her tongue to keep from saying something nasty to her little brother. She doesn’t tell him that odds are good dad is already dead. She doesn’t tell him that their brother is dying if they don’t make it to the city within the year. She doesn’t tell him that Frank probably just wants to go after these bandits because he hasn’t killed anyone in a while and he’s jealous that someone else beat him to it. Instead she just shrugs and turns her back. “That’s the plan.” Frank takes the driver’s seat again and Evan’s forced into the passenger seat because Adrian is curled up behind her, his head pressed against the window. There is sweat on his skin and his eyes are glazed and distant as he looks out at the desert. Evan wants to sit next to him and make sure that he’s comfortable because that’s the best they can do, but she doesn’t. She sits up front with her psychotic older brother and she gets to work loading her shotgun and the two handguns she keeps at her hips. When that’s done she loads Frank’s weapons for him because he’s driving and even he’s not that good. The jeep fills with the smell of his tobacco. It is strange to her to realize that it smells like home. Smoke and sweat and dirt and this is her life. The vehicle rumbles over the desert and sand rushes through the cracks in the doors and the windows. She watches it fly by them outside as Frank forces it off road and into the wasteland. She wonders if they’re going to pay for this later when they have to get themselves back on track but he’s on a mission and she just lets him go. She kicks back in the passenger seat as they tear across the scrubs and the dunes and follow dirt ruts that Frank’s got his eyes locked on. The sun is setting to her left but she doesn’t look at it. She watches the moon rising on her right and she crosses her arms in the window as the stars come out above her. Frank doesn’t turn the lights on for a long time and she doesn’t mind because then it is just the wind and the sky and the universe above them. She hears him sigh quietly behind her and she glances over at him. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” he says. “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.” Evan sighs and then she sits back in her chair, the moon and the stars forgotten. “Shut the fuck up,” she tells Frank. “You’re like a god damned preacher, I swear.” He laughs at her, nodding his head and closing his mouth after that. She watches him for a moment and then she reaches across the seats to grab the cigarette from his lips and stick it between her own. She blows smoke out from between her lips and watches as the tires eat away the miles underneath them. They see the light from the campfire before they see any of the people. It is set in a hollow so that it’s protected by the wind as best they can. In the back of her mind she wonders if they are actual bandits or if they are mutants. She thinks it’s the first because they left bodies behind and if they were mutants they probably would have taken them and eaten them. That’s what she’s hoping anyway, because the idea of taking on freaks in the dark isn’t exactly how she wanted to spend her day. She smokes her brother’s cigarette down to a stub before she gives it back to him and then she cocks the shotgun in her arms. “Frankie,” she says, and he glances at her. She’s not sure if she hates him but sometimes she knows exactly how he feels. There is adrenaline starting to pump through her veins and she wonders if she’s not just as bad as him. “I’m prepared for war.” “You’re both out of your god damned minds,” Adrian grumbles. He is having a hard time holding his head up and it makes her sad. “I’m prepared for victory.” Nicky has his gun out and he’s twirling it in his fingers. His other hand reaches up to pull the goggles over his eyes and he’s smiling like the little kid he is sometimes. He is tense and he’s watching out the window as they rumble up over the dune. They had to have heard them coming. The jeep is old and it’s loud but it’s home and it’s the only one they have left to them. “Damien, we’ve got company!” someone yells. It’s the only warning they get before the jeep roars over the dune and skids to a stop in the circle of firelight. Frank isn’t subtle sometimes. Bullets glance off the side and she can hear shouting outside the window. Frank is already kicking his door open and his gun has gone off twice before Evan even reaches for the handle. She hears strangled shouts and then the thump of bodies hitting the ground and then she is hitting the dirt and joining the fight. There’s a man backing up swiftly towards his truck, his fingers thick and clumsy as he jams bullets into his revolver. The bullet she fires catches him in the chest before he can finish loading and he slams back against the side of the vehicle. The firefight lasts all of a minute. Adrian never leaves the jeep, climbing out onto the back of it and firing with his rifle at a man trying to escape over the dune. The bullet catches him in the thigh and her brother curses, snapping the gun back and chambering the next bullet. He lifts it to his eye and the second shot catches him in the head, ripping the man’s jaw clean off. “Just hold on a second, fella,” someone is saying. Evan slings her shotgun over her shoulder and moves towards the front of the jeep. There is a man with scruffy brown hair and goggles over his eyes and he’s got one arm around another man who looks completely out of place. His eyes are calm and passive, a black mask and goggles that don’t match with his army green clothes. The man behind him has his gun pressed tightly to his temple and he’s trying to argue or barter with Frankie. “We can work something out. You let me live and I won’t shoot this bloke in the head, how’s that sound?” Frankie doesn’t answer him. He doesn’t bat an eye, not for a second, and the man doesn’t have time to realize that he could shoot the man he’s holding and Frank wouldn’t give a fuck. He lifts his revolver and fires a shot through his forehead. The man’s body hits the ground with a thump and the guy he’d been holding just keeps standing there. He glances dully over his shoulder at the fresh corpse but no emotion crosses his face. He just looks at the body and then he looks up at Frank like he’s waiting for something to do. “We’re all clear back here,” Adrian calls from the jeep. “I don’t see any more of them. What’ve you got?” “Not sure yet,” Evan tells him. Frank keeps his gun out, his feet carrying him forward to look at the man. His rough fingers come up and grip his chin, tilting this head to the side and focusing on something on his neck. The man doesn’t blink, doesn’t change expression at all. He’s just waiting and that’s stranger than a lot of the things they come across out here. Frankie looks at his throat for a long time and her brother’s face changes anyway. He goes through a whole range of emotion and then he finally looks back up at the man’s face. “Tell me son,” he says. “Do you believe in God?” Wenston “Define believe,” CC says and it’s curious, the man in front of him, how his face keeps moving between separate emotions. He can’t tell from one moment of the next if he is happy, content or angry. The question just seems to send his face spiraling into a myriad of emotion again. The man finally just narrows his eyes and glares at him. “It’s a simple question, son,” he says and he raises his gun to point it at CC’s head. CC tips his head to the side to eye the gun before moving his head back into the path of its trajectory. A girl standing near the front of the jeep they’d rolled up on scoffs at the movement and he’s unsure why. There’s a younger man, who looks more like a boy, coming around the side and he pauses next to the woman. Their fourth and final counterpart clings to the back of the jeep, but is watching them closely and CC wonders if they’re all related. They have similar features and he’s about 67% sure they share at least one parent in common. “Do you,” the man holding the gun to his head says, putting extra emphasis on the words. “Believe in God?” CC watches him a moment before he purses his lips in thought. “I would have to disagree that it is a simple question,” he says at last and he watches the man widen his eyes, like he is appalled by CC’s statement. Not wanting to make the man look like a fool in front of his counterparts, CC quickly explains, “The word believe can have multiple meanings in this context. If you mean believe, as in to accept the existence of an object or thing, then I suppose there are enough occurrences of belief in individuals to warrant some validity to the notion. However, if you mean believe, as in to have faith or accept that God is someone or something that will inherently effect me and the events that happen to me, then I’m afraid I have had no circumstantial evidence to support the notion one way or another. So depending on the context with which you mean the word believe, my answer would either be yes or no and therefore I cannot agree that your question is a simple one.” Everyone is quiet for a long moment and CC stands there and waits. He makes sure he stands straight and keeps the barrel of the man’s gun on the same spot on his head. He shifts every so often as the man hand sways side to side and it occurs to him that perhaps the man noticed this and is testing to see if he is doing it on purpose or not. The man’s hand finally stops moving and he’s frowning at CC like he doesn’t know what to make of him. CC returns the sentiment. “What the fuck?” the woman near the jeep says at last. “Frankie, just shoot him.” The man clinging to the back of the jeep finally lets go and walks around to the front to stand next to the woman and the younger one. CC notices he walks gingerly and his hands are shaking. He notices his pale skin and he concludes that he is sick. He doesn’t say anything about it. The younger one snorts like something is funny. “Is he a robot or some shit?” It earns him a slap in the back of the head from the woman and another one consecutively followed up by the sick man. The man in front of him, Frankie, is still just watching him intently and he is not shooting him. CC is grateful for that. He has never been shot before but he is fairly certain he would not survive the impact of the bullet to the spot on his head. His chances of surviving would be less than 1%. “What’s your name?” Frankie asks at last. “I was never granted the pleasantry of a name,” CC tells him. He lifts a hand and notices the way Frankie tenses and the other three tense right along with him. CC slows his motions down as to not disturb them further. He points to the markings on his neck. “They have always referenced me by my serial number. But it is most commonly referenced only by the first two letters. I believe it is due to the fact that letters are easier to remember than numbers, due to our language being based on alphabetic sounds and not numerical digits.” Frankie snorts in the same manner his younger counterpart had just a moment ago. He scrunches his nose and seems to make a decision about something, nodding before he lowers his gun back down to his side. He tips his head to look at the serial number again and CC leans to expose his neck to make it easier for him to read. “So they call you CC?” “That is correct,” CC says. “Do you mind if I call you Frankie? Or is that a name only used by those who are familiar with you?” Frankie chuckles, waving his hand. “You can call me sugar plum for all I care.” He turns around and walks to his three counterparts. CC stays where he is, not having been told to follow or move. “What are you doing?” he hears the woman bark at Frankie. “What is that guy?” the sick one demands. The little one is still watching CC and he tips his head to the side to regard him for a moment. The little one points a finger at him in the shape of a gun and mouths the word, “bang” as he pulls his hand back sharply. CC’s unsure what to make of the motion. Frankie sighs and leans against the jeep. He looks contemplative and his eyes drift back towards CC’s direction. CC’s made up his mind that Frankie is the leader and the woman is second in command. The little one seems to be on the bottom of their hierarchy and he is unsure if the sick man is low ranked because he is sick or because that’s where he naturally would stand. “I think he’s what was in that transport truck,” Frankie says to his counterparts, pointing at CC. They all look over at him and he stands beneath their gazes. He is used to scrutiny. The others are quiet for a moment before the woman asks, “Why would they be transporting him? What is he? An experiment?” Frankie pushes himself off the jeep to come back over. He toes the body of the man lying behind CC and asks, “Are you mad I shot this guy?” CC turns to look down at the dead man for a moment before he turns his gaze back to Frankie. “I have only been in his acquaintance for about three hours and twenty four minutes. That is hardly long enough to create emotional ties to anything. He did nothing to accelerate our relationship into good standing. I feel nothing for his death except the inherent psychological dampening at the loss of a life. It is not enough to promote anger or sadness.” Frankie laughs, bending at the waist and looking back at his counterparts, who don’t look amused, simply confused. He turns back around and claps CC on the arm. “You came from that transport truck out in the desert, didn’t you?” he asks, his face darkening into something serious. CC finds it odd how quickly his mood can change. “You are correct in that assumption,” CC tells him. Frankie nods, his hand tightening on the gun in his hand. “Where were you going?” he asks, his voice nonchalant and conversational, although CC can see something desperate shining in his eyes. “The Corporation was transporting me to Electric City,” CC says and he doesn’t miss the way all of them tensed at the mention of the city’s name. “I was to be a part of an experiment. My genes hold certain immunities the scientists found useful. I…” Frankie holds his hand up, cutting him off. “You’re immune to the freaks, aren’t you?” he asks and behind him the others’ eyes widen, shooting to CC in anticipation of his answer. “Define freaks,” CC says. Frankie frowns and turns sharply. He stalks across the sand towards his counterparts and goes to the sick one, pulling his shirt up and exposing his stomach and chest. CC catches a glimpse of dark, black spidery veins crawling across his skin, pulsating along with his heart. The sick man growls and shoves Frankie away, pulling his shirt back down and angrily spitting, “Asshole.” “Freaks,” Frankie says, ignoring him. “You’re immune to that,” he points to the sick man’s stomach again. “Aren’t you?” CC nods. “The genetic anomalies, yes.” Frankie is quiet, his eyes wild for a moment as he thinks about that. The sick man looks out towards the desert and it is becoming increasingly harder to ignore the gusty winds whipping across the land, blowing sand at them. The sick one reaches to touch Frankie’s arm. “The storm’s coming,” he says lowly. Frankie points to CC. “They take a GPS from your truck?” “I believe they hid it in that truck,” CC says, pointing to one of the trucks behind the group. Frankie glances back at it and grins, turning back to look at CC as he jogs over to the truck. “Well, CC, today’s your lucky day. You’re not going to die and you get to go on a road trip. With us.” CC tips his head to the side and doesn’t really understand why that means it is his lucky day, but he doesn’t argue. “I will do as you request, sugar plum.” .Wolfie. They move the other trucks into a circle around the jeep to try and block out as much of the sand and the wind as they can. By then the storm’s picked up and Evan can taste dirt in her mouth even with the mask on. She’s used to it by now. They all are.They tamp down the canvas in the back of the jeep and then put Nicky back there. They’d put their new friend CC in the back but there’s a lot of guns and ammo back there and they don’t want his hands anywhere near them. So he gets put in the passenger seat as soon as Frankie’s done collecting the bodies which is fine with Evan because she doesn’t want to deal with either of them. She sits behind them with Adrian and he’s trying to pretend that he’s not getting worse but he’s shaking by the time he settles in next to her. She wraps one arm around his chest and she sings quietly while the storm rages outside. It lasts all night. They can hear the screaming winds through the window and the sound of sand scraping along the paint and the metal. The only one that sleeps easy is Nicky. He passes out with his head resting against a metal tin of shotgun shells and his feet propped up on a spare tire. Maybe Frankie catches a few winks but she doubts it because she can see his finger caressing the trigger of his gun all night. She can’t tell if CC sleeps. She wouldn’t if she was him, but she already figures he’s not like other people. She would have been just as happy to see Frankie shoot him, right up until the point where he said he was immune to mutations. That hit her like a blow to the gut and it makes her feel something terrifying. It feels like hope. Like maybe if dad’s still alive and they get this kid to him then he can figure out just what’s in his blood that keeps him from becoming a freak. Maybe they can pass it on. Maybe they can save Adrian. The storm lasts until just after daybreak and by then they have to rely on the sound of it because there’s sand covering all the windows. The jeep’s a little crooked and she hopes they won’t have to try and dig it out because that could take all day. Frankie kicks the door open with his boot and dirt slides over the window and pours onto the ground below. Even with the goggles he squints against the sun and Evan can feel the heat coming in through the open door. The storm’s passed on through and now all that’s left is desert and sun and boiling heat. Frankie stands on the edge of the door and then ducks his head to look back at his new captive, gesturing his gun at him. “Come on son,” he says. “You’re going to help me build a pyre for your friends.” “The word friend implies some level of intimacy with these men that I did not possess,” CC tells him. His voice is calm, his hands still resting in his lap where cuffs hold his wrists together. She didn’t miss that Frankie didn’t take them off him and she doesn’t think that should change. He’s a fucking science experiment and who knows what he’d do if he were free. Nicky laughs from behind her. She glances over her shoulder at him and he’s grinning before he catches the look she’s giving him. “What?” he shrugs. “He said ‘intimacy.’ Like with other men.” He laughs again and Evan rolls her eyes. “You’re such a stupid shit,” she tells him, reaching back to smack him in the side of the head. Frankie ignores them and she’s not surprised. He walks around and yanks the kid’s door open, jerking his head at him and gesturing the gun at his head. “Let’s go,” he spits into the sand. “Want to give these men a proper send off, don’t we?” CC doesn’t hesitate, jumping lightly out of the passenger side of the jeep and onto the sand. It sinks and shifts around his feet and he frowns at it for a moment like he’s not used to the sensation. Maybe he’s not. He’s probably used to wires and electric cages and her memory’s got a couple of places she can call up and picture because she helped dad blow them up once. “We need gas,” Adrian says next to her. He’s sitting up and scrubbing his hands over his eyes as he does and he’s shaking the whole time. He’s pale and he’s getting worse every day and she didn’t like just how bad his chest looked when Frankie called him on it yesterday. It’s spreading. It’s moving along his veins and it’s probably in his lungs by now. “Nicky can help me,” she tells him. He frowns and looks up at her at the words but she ignores the look he’s giving her. He doesn’t like it but he doesn’t say anything. Nicky lets out an excited whoop and starts rolling up the canvas in the back of the jeep. “Do you know what happens to us when we die?” Frankie asks. She glances over at him and he’s pulling the bodies out of the back of the truck he dumped them on. CC is trying to help but they are just dead weight and he doesn’t have Frankie’s muscle. She snorts and bites back a laugh at the sight of him trying to drag a man’s corpse with handcuffs around his wrists and a poor grip on the back of his shirt. The clothes rip and the body drops to the sand but Frankie doesn’t care. He comes back and throws the corpse over his shoulder. “Yes,” CC tells him. He nods his head, following behind her older brother like an obedient pup while Frankie builds himself a pile of bodies. Evan rolls her eyes because this is a waste of time but Frank won’t listen to her anyway. “All major senses shut down first, eyesight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. The major organs follow. The heart and lungs cease function. The skin grows pale as pallor mortis sets in, blood settles in the lower portion of the body, and the body drops in temperature. Rigor mortis renders the body stiff and unresponsive and eventually decomposition begins.” He says it all with a dull, morbid detachment. Frankie drops the body in a pile and then he straightens up and focuses on the kid. After a moment he snorts and shakes his head, reaching inside his vest to start to roll himself a cigarette. “Well aren’t you a regular walking encyclopedia?” He chuckles and dumps the tobacco into his paper. “Listen kid, that ain’t what I’m asking you. I’m asking if you know what happens to our souls.” “Jesus fuck, Frankie,” Evan spits. She shoots him a glare as she crouches down by the gas tank of one of the trucks. “Will you just knock it off? Just because we’re kidnapping him doesn’t mean you have to torture him too.” Frankie laughs and sticks the cigarette between his lips. “I’m just asking a question,” he says. “You got an answer for me son?” CC shakes his head. “It depends on your definition of a soul,” he says. “Based on your previous questions I will assume you are referring to the spiritual belief as opposed to a more technical ghost in the machine philosophy, however I cannot theorize an appropriate answer since I do not believe that God as an entity exists.” Evan pops the fuel door open to thread the tube down into the gas tank. Nicky crouches next to her and his eyes are wide as he watches the exchange between Frankie and his new friend. “Is he going to shoot him?” he asks, not quietly. Evan shrugs because she doesn’t care either way, sucking the gas up through the end of the tube and into her mouth. She spits it out onto the sand with a grimace and then drops it down into the tank so that it can start to fill. They can’t afford to waste anything out here. There’s no telling when they might stumble upon a town with gas reserves or get lucky like this and find trucks just waiting to be stripped. So they scavenge what they can and she doesn’t feel guilty about it anymore, if she ever did. Frankie laughs after a minute and then he claps CC on the shoulder in a way too friendly motion. “I’ll tell you then,” he says, pointing the cigarette at him. “When we die, our souls go to heaven, where they stand outside the golden gates to be judged. Now son, you know what’s worse than finding out all our sins in St. Peter’s book?” Evan scoffs at the question because she’s heard this a thousand times and its ridiculous that now she has to hear it all over again just because Frankie’s got someone else to talk to. He doesn’t actually wait for an answer, pointing his cigarette in CC’s face. “That he won’t be able to find our names there at all.” CC frowns like he’s not sure what to make of this and Nicky laughs next to her. “He’s going to find my name,” he says cheerfully, and Evan rolls her eyes and shoves him away from the gas can. He lands on his ass but he’s still smiling. He just moves to rest his elbows on his knees and he makes a gun out of his fingers, pointing it at CC and pulling the trigger. “For what?” she spits. “Being a pain in my ass every fucking day of the year?” She hears the door creak and she glances behind her as Adrian climbs out of the jeep. He is shivering like he is cold and he looks grateful to be out in the sun. He slumps down next to the tire and gives her a shaky smile that she doesn’t believe, not for a second. Then he turns his head to the side to study CC and she watches him frown. She watches his hand raise and scrub over his chest and she’s wondering if he sees a way out or if he’s past the point of hope. She wants it to be the first. “We need to teach God our names,” Frankie tells him. “That’s why we’re going to burn these motherfuckers. To make sure they got nothing to cling to on earth and they can make it to heaven to tell God just who the fuck we are.” He smiles behind the mask and then he crouches down by the closest body. He reaches a hand out and slides his eyes shut, leaning forward so that his lips are by the man’s ear. “Francis James Stark,” he says quietly. He pats the side of the man’s face almost affectionately and Evan shakes her head because her brother’s a god damned sociopath. “Tell it to St. Peter when you see him.” Then he stands, walking over towards her and Nicky and he doesn’t ask before he picks the gas can off the ground. “Hey!” she shouts in irritation, pinching the tube off as fast as she can. Frankie grins at her and gives her a wink but it doesn’t wipe the glare off her face as he carries it back to the pile of corpses. He starts pouring it on top of the bodies, the cigarette still clamped between his teeth. “You fucking asshole,” she spits. “We could use that for you know, running the god damned jeep?” “Won’t matter when we’re dead,” Frankie tells her. “All that matter is that they know our names when we sit in judgment.” Then he tosses his still burning cigarette on top of the corpses and he burns them all. Wenston They watch the corpses burn for a long time. Frankie gives the gas can back to the woman and CC still hasn’t caught the rest of their names. He supposes they’ll offer them when they’re ready. He stands next to Frankie and they watch the fire burn together. Frankie has his arms crossed over his chest and CC would mimic the motion, but his hands are still cuffed at the wrists and he doesn’t say anything about it because if they want the cuffs off, they’ll take them off. “If your assumption is right,” CC starts and Frankie tips his head to the side but doesn’t look at him, “And your God will only let you into Heaven if your name is in St. Peter’s book, what happens if you have no name?” Frankie snorts and glances over at him, studying him for a moment and CC just meets his gaze sincerely. He is curious to find out what Frankie’s answer is. The man seems to have a strong perception of the spiritual soul and CC has never come across that before. He is familiar with religion and different beliefs, but he has never met someone so enthralled by it all. He finds Frankie fascinating. “Well, you might be screwed,” Frankie says and reaches out to squeeze CC’s shoulder. It’s affectionate and CC glances at his hand before looking back at his face. “Or God might go the route of your serial number there. So you may want to let St. Peter know he’s got a CC on his way up.” He nods to the fire. “Go on, let him know.” CC frowns and looks back to the fire. He’s unsure what to really make of that request, so he clears his throat and leans forward a little. “Pardon me,” he calls. “When you are greeted by St. Peter, I would kindly implore you to ask him if he could add CC to his list of names, please. I trust he will know what it means when I arrive.” Frankie bursts out laughing and CC turns to him, like maybe he’s done something wrong. Frankie has to wipe a tear from his eye but he’s grinning widely and he claps CC on the shoulder again. “You’re classic,” he says and then turns and heads back over to the jeep where the others are still waiting. CC frowns, glances at the fire one last time, and then follows in Frankie’s footsteps. “Are you done fucking around?” the woman demands. She has finished siphoning the gasoline from the other jeeps and is pouring it into their own. The vehicle is in poor condition and CC wonders why they don’t just take one of the other vehicles, but he keeps his mouth shut because his opinion was not requested. He looks down at the sick man leaning against the tire and their eyes meet for a moment before the sick man looks away first, scrubbing at his chest. Frankie doesn’t answer the woman. He leans into the jeep and pulls out the GPS they’d taken from the other one last night. He starts to fiddle with it and the youngest man leaps up and tries to look at it over his shoulder. CC isn’t sure what he is supposed to be doing, so he walks a little closer to the sick man and sits down cross legged to the side of him. They all glance at him and he wonders if he was supposed to remain standing, but then Frankie goes back to fiddling with the GPS. The woman watches him very suspiciously and he gathers that she is very territorial when it comes to this sick man. The sick man lowers his hand from his chest and leans his head back against the jeep, his eyes wandering over CC. He sits beneath the scrutiny and hopes the man finds whatever he is looking for when he looks at him. “So they did experiments on you, huh?” the sick man asks. CC nods. “Yes,” he says and he does not elaborate. The sick man seems to be waiting for him to go on and when he doesn’t, he glances at the woman, who finishes pouring gas into the jeep and then sets the gas can down, closing up the gas cap and coming to stand over them, leaning against the jeep. “Were they trying to create a cure?” she asks and the sick man stiffens at the question. She looks down at him and then crouches, one hand on his arm and CC determines he was accurate about the territorialism. “I was not made aware of what their ultimate goal was,” CC says. Frankie growls from inside the jeep. “This fucking thing is broken,” he spits. The woman glances up at them, then glares at CC and he takes it as a warning before she stands up and leans into the jeep. “Let me see it,” she says, holding her hand out. Frankie all but throws the GPS at her and she turns it over in her hands. From where he’s sitting, CC can see a connection wire is shredded on the back. He wonders if they’ll notice or if they would appreciate being told. “So are you like a clone or something?” the sick man asks. CC looks back at him and he doesn’t understand the question. The sick man frowns and scratches at his chest again. “I mean, did they make you or were you actually a guy running around in the world?” Frankie seems interested in that questions and scoots closer to the window, leaning out it to listen. The younger man is helping the woman, but by the look on her face, CC would determine that he is not helping at all. He looks back at the sick man and shakes his head. “Both are distinct possibilities,” he says. “I have no memories prior to waking in the laboratory.” He frowns and then pushes one of his legs out in front of him. He pulls up his pant leg and turns his leg so they can see a scar on his calf. “Although this scar tissue leads me to believe the latter. It was not the result of an experiment like the others and I have had it since my first memory. It is not proof of a past life, but it does cause just speculation.” “This thing’s a piece of garbage,” the woman spits at last. They all turn to look at her and she tosses the GPS back at Frankie, who catches it easily. He sighs like he has lost hope in something and CC tips his head to the side. He looks back down at the sick man and he is still looking at him. CC wonders if the sick man sees something in him that is interesting. Perhaps his eyes lit up a little when there was talk of a cure for the genetic abnormalities and CC suddenly understands why he keeps looking at him. “Do I call you sugar plum as well?” CC asks. The sick man snorts. “No, please don’t,” he says and coughs afterwards, turning his head to the side to spit something black and horrid from his mouth. CC simply eyes it and waits for the man to lean back, breathing heavily and sweating. He looks at CC out of the corner of his eye and smiles, shaking his head. “Adrian.” CC nods. “Are you counting on my genes to hold a cure, Adrian?” he asks and they all turn to look at him. Adrian is the only one that smiles. The others are glaring like he’s said something wrong. “That’d be nice, yeah,” Adrian says. “But I’m not expecting it.” CC nods again. “Do you believe if we reach Electric City, your chances of finding a cure are more probable?” “Frankie, your new pet is bugging the shit out of me,” the woman hisses. Frankie holds up a hand, silencing her. “Answer him, Adrian,” he said. Adrian tilts his head to look up at Frankie and then looks back to CC. “Yeah, I believe that,” he says through grit teeth. CC nods again at the answer and then lifts his cuffed hands to point at the GPS. “The connection cord was shredded when they removed it from the truck’s console. If you find a new cord, the device can be fixed.” They all turn to look at the GPS in Frankie’s hands and then Frankie lifts his head to look at CC and CC can’t read the look on his face. “Son of a bitch,” Frankie says. .Wolfie. “None of these fucking things work,” Evan growls. She tosses another wire onto the ground and reaches for the next one. There’s a pile of wires and cords sitting next to her on the hood of the jeep because she doesn’t know what she’s looking for so she’s trying all of them. She’s ripped everything she could out of the other trucks but most of them are already missing all their electronic parts because they’re products of scavenging just like the jeep she’s sitting on. Frankie is busy taking whatever’s left.Adrian still sits next to the tire and CC is sitting next to him. Evan doesn’t like him there because he asks too many questions and they don’t talk about his sickness. If they don’t talk about it then he doesn’t have to think about it and she doesn’t want to remind her brother that he’s dying, even if the cure is sitting right next to him. It doesn’t mean shit if they don’t get to the city. Nicky is twirling his gun in his hand with a bored look on his face. His gaze wanders the camp before it finally settles back on CC and then he smirks, walking across the sands to crouch in front of him. The man looks calmly back, his expression never changes. Nicky’s eyes narrow as he tries to mimic the man’s expression. “You ever been in a fight?” he asks, trying to sound tougher than he is. “Not that I can recall,” CC tells him. He tilts his head to the side and Nicky does the same, keeping their eyes level the whole time. Evan rolls her eyes and tries the next cord. She knows as soon as she does that it won’t work because it only has a connection at one end. “Though it is a possibility, depending on whether or not I had a life before I was experimented on.” Nicky nods and then winces as soon as he does because he’s just lost his own game. Then he laughs, standing up and pointing a finger at the man in the shape of a gun. “I bet I could take you,” he says. “Even without a gun, though that’s faster. Bang, you’re dead.” Adrian reaches up and shoves his finger away from CC’s face. “Why don’t you go find something useful to do?” he snaps. Nicky frowns and sticks his tongue out at him as soon as Adrian’s eyes close again. Adrian doesn’t even crack them open but he lifts a hand and flips his kid brother off and Evan can’t help the small snort of laughter. Nicky glances at her and starts to walk over but then she’s snarling a curse because the next wire doesn’t work either. He pauses when she tosses it to the ground and then he turns and decides to go bother Frankie instead. He kicks scrap out of his way and hopes up on the truck next to his eldest brother. “Hey science experiment,” Evan snaps. She glances over her shoulder at the man on the ground and he looks expectantly up at her. She frowns because she doesn’t like him and she doesn’t like the way he talks or the way he looks at things. It makes her nervous because it’s too cold and scientific. She’s not a bleeding heart or anything but no one should be that calm looking at a pile of dead bodies. It makes her nervous enough that Frank is. “Why don’t you get your ass up here and tell me if any of this shit will work?” The man pushes off the ground to do as she says and the cuffs around his wrist don’t seem to hinder him any. He walks around to stand in front of her and he tilts his head to the side as he studies the back of the GPS and the wires she’s collected. “I do not believe so,” he tells her. “It may be possible to splice some of these wires together but it still may not function properly.” “Mother fucker,” she curses. She lifts her boot and kicks the wires off onto the ground, shoving the GPS into his hands in disgust. CC looks down at it, turning it over in his hands curiously. “Frankie!” she yells. Her hands dig in her pocket for one of her cigars, watching her brother until he looks over his shoulder. “Your new puppy says none of this shit’s going to work.” Frankie looks up with a frown on his face, eyes going from Evan to CC. A sigh leaves his lips and he shakes his head in annoyance. “Shit,” he spits. “Alright. Start getting our shit packed up so we can get moving.” Adrian’s head falls away from the side of the vehicle and Evan almost misses the motion. She almost misses the way his shoulders slump as he stares at his hands. The man standing in front of her is fucking useless to them unless they get to the city. They can’t do anything with his blood out here and the sand storms constantly change the landscape of the desert. Maybe they’ll find the city without a GPS. They’ll keep trying but they don’t know how much time they have left and she hates that thought. Frankie throws the shit he’s ripped out of the trucks into the back of the jeep and it’s not much but maybe they can sell it for something. Either way it seems a waste to leave it here next to the burned pile of bodies. Evan takes the passenger seat this time because the last thing she wants is to have to listen to Frankie quiz the kid about religion all the way through the fucking desert. Nicky jumps in the back again and Adrian jerks his head at CC to get in the backseat. He doesn’t hesitate and he doesn’t show a single sign of emotion as he heads towards the door, not until Frankie catches him with a hand on his shoulder. “What would you do if I took those cuffs off you?” he demands. Evan looks at him with a glare because the last thing she wants is some freak experiment sitting behind her with his hands free. More importantly, she doesn’t want him sitting next to Adrian and she flicks a quick glance at him. He is using the side of the jeep to push himself to his feet and his limbs tremble as he does. CC tilts his head curiously to the side. “If you are asking if my behavior would change at all should you remove my bindings than the answer is no. Other than the obvious freedom of mobility that I would then possess.” Evan snorts and leans out the window. “Sure. Smart guy like you wouldn’t get it into his head to steal a gun and take off on us?” CC looks at her and he frowns for a moment. “That doesn’t seem prudent,” he says simply. Adrian laughs quietly from the side of the jeep, running a hand over his face at the answer. Evan keeps glaring at the guy until he shakes his head and continues. “My ignorance of the landscape and the complications that may arise traversing it make it clearly logical that my best hope for survival would be to cooperate fully with your family, assuming that you are related as I have inferred from your interactions and similar features.” Frankie chuckles and his hand tightens on the man’s shoulder. “Well aren’t you observant?” he says, shaking his head. Evan rolls her eyes and she thinks its irritating how enthralled Frankie is with his new toy. It wouldn’t matter to her if they just gagged and bound him and threw him in the trunk for the whole trip. “So tell me son, and this is an important one, are you afraid to die?” CC narrows his eyes in thought, his lips pursing as he considers the question. He watches Frankie like maybe he knows the wrong answer will be his last one. “I do not think it would be pleasant,” he finally says. “And as such I would prefer to avoid it.” Nicky laughs from behind him and Evan shoots him a glare. “Well that might be too bad,” he says. “Bang, you’re dead, remember?” Frankie snorts and he pulls his gun abruptly from the holster. He places the barrel against the man’s head and he doesn’t move. He doesn’t even blink and Evan curses because if he’s not scared then he should be. She takes a step back because if Frankie decides he’s bored and wants to blow the man’s brains out then she doesn’t want them getting all over her clothes. She’s got enough stains on them from the desert and she doesn’t need to add more. “That’s not what I asked son,” he says. His voice doesn’t change. It is cheerful and friendly and it wouldn’t change even if he pulled the trigger. “Are you,” and he clicks the safety back, “afraid to die?” CC looks back at him but there is almost an emotion on his face. It isn’t fear. It’s more like concentration, like he’s putting all of his brain power into figuring out the answer to a puzzle. Maybe the puzzle’s Frankie. Maybe he’s just trying to think what answer he wants to hear and if he does then the answer’s yes and he’s afraid to die. If it’s no then Frankie might pull the trigger anyway because guns don’t hold any leverage over someone like that. Evan doesn’t care either way. If he’s dead they’ll still have his blood. “I am not sure,” CC tells him at last. Frankie’s eyes narrow and his finger tightens almost imperceptibly on the trigger. “The thought of dying inspires a certain amount of dread but I am not sure if it is because logically I know that it is what I am supposed to feel at the prospect of my demise or if it is because it is the emotion it actually inspires in me.” Frankie snorts and he keeps the gun against his head. “Well you listen to me, CC. I’m going to go ahead and take these cuffs off you. But I promise you, you try and hurt me and mine or make a break for it and I’m going to make sure I put the fear of dying in you. I’ll put the fucking fear of God in you and when I’m done he won’t recognize you enough to put a name to you at the pearly gates.” Then he smiles and he pulls the gun from his skin, smiling as he holsters it. “We understand each other son?” CC tilts his head to the side and he’s still got that look of concentration on his face. “I believe so,” he says. Frankie’s smile widens and then he reaches down and pulls the man’s arms up to him so that he can inspect his bindings. “Good,” he says, turning the cuffs over in his hands. “Now how the fuck do you get these things off?” He frowns and quirks his mouth to the side before he reaches for the gun at his hip. “Ah well, if all else fails. Hold still son. I’ll try not to blow a hand off.” “If you prefer I could just tell you the twelve digits pass code,” CC tells him. He is calm and he watches Frankie’s face as he raises wide eyes to him. Next to the jeep Adrian starts laughing because the man could have set himself free at any time and Evan wonders why he hasn’t made a break for it before. If it were her she would have broken out and wrecked the whole fucking city, because well, that’s what she did. Adrian shakes his head, one hand braced against the hood and then his laughter turns into a ragged cough. He braces his hand against the hood, pulling his mask down to spit black bile out onto the sands below. “Yeah,” Frank tells CC, licking his lips and focusing on the cuffs. “Yeah, why don’t you rattle that off for me?” Evan rolls her eyes and slumps back in the seat, kicking her feet up on the dashboard and staring out the front window. The sand blows and skates across the glass and she watches it dully, wondering how rain would look on their windshield. She wonders if dad’s still alive and if he’ll even be able to help Adrian when they get there. She wonders if its ever going to happen or if they’re just going to wander the desert for the rest of their lives. That thought settles in her chest and makes it constrict with pain. Adrian leans against the window next to her and she rolls her head to look at him. He is still trembling but he is standing on his own and his eyes are clear. There’s sweat rolling down from underneath the goggles on his forehead and he wipes it away with his sleeve. “Cheer up, little sister,” he says. He offers her a small smirk and she tries to return it. “Hope’s not dead until we are.” She laughs and shoves him in the shoulder to get him away from her. Nicky glances over because Evan doesn’t laugh often and he smiles because he wants to be in on the joke. “You’re getting as bad as Frank,” she spits. “Next you’ll be telling me God’ll save us.” Wenston CC watches the landscape pass by and his hands are free for the first time in months. His fingers trace the raw, red lines around his wrists but he doesn’t look down at them because he is more interested in what is outside the window. It’s vast and open and dirty. Just sand in all directions. Dark skies on the horizon and clouds above them. It’s warm out and getting warmer now that the sandstorm has passed. He’s not used to this environment. But he thinks he knows the name for it. He thinks its Wasteland. Frankie is quiet as he drives and beside him the woman has her feet propped up on the dashboard and her head against the window. She looks tired and bored and CC thinks she doesn’t like him but he doesn’t say anything. She’s not required to like him, he supposes. No one really is and no one really does. Beside him, Adrian has stopped shaking finally and he has a small smirk on his face like he’s appreciative of that. CC wonders again if Adrian sees salvation when he looks at him and he hopes that it’s true if he does. The youngest man sticks his head out of the back, in between Adrian and CC and he’s twirling a gun in his hands as he turns his head to look at CC. “What kind of experiments did they do on you?” he asks. “Jesus, Nicky,” Adrian spits and CC sees Frankie look up at him in the rearview mirror. Their eyes meet for a moment and then Frankie snorts and watches where he’s driving again. “What?” the young man, Nicky, squawks. “I’m just asking. It’s not like he cares. He’s like a robot or something.” Nicky turns his head to look at him and pokes him with the gun. “Aren’t you? You’ve got no feelings in there, do you?” Adrian growls something angry and tugs the gun out of Nicky’s hand, tossing it up to the woman in the front seat who catches it and scoffs. “Just because he doesn’t show it, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have feelings, asshole,” Adrian spits and CC watches him a moment and doesn’t understand Adrian’s anger. It’s not him Nicky is talking about and CC isn’t taking offense. Maybe he should be, according to the look on Adrian’s face. “It’s just a question,” Nicky says and turns back to CC. “So? What about it? What kind of experiments did they do on you? Did they stick you stick needles? Put tubes in your body? Did they electrocute you?” CC frowns a little and then comes to a conclusion. “I do not believe your mental capacity is at a level large enough to comprehend the procedures performed, nor is your knowledge of science and medicine sharp enough to grasp the concepts required to understand. So there would be no congruent reason for me to explain in that kind of detail what you are asking.” Adrian starts laughing and from the front seat, the woman snorts. CC can see a grin spread across Frankie’s face and beside him, Nicky just looks towards Adrian and says, “What’d he say?” “He’s calling you stupid,” Adrian explains in layman’s terms. Nicky scoffs and turns back to look at CC with a snarl on his face. “You’re stupid,” he snaps back at him. “What kind of a moron sits there and lets people experiment on him? If it were me? I would have killed them all. Easily.” “Oh, whatever, Nicky,” Adrian says, rolling his eyes. “You’d be crying in a corner somewhere.” “Would not!” Nicky growls and then looks towards the front. “Frankie, I would not be crying.” Frankie chuckles. “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult,” Frankie says as though he were quoting something. His eyes come up to look at Nicky in the rearview mirror and he laughs again at the sour look on the young man’s face. The woman in the passenger seat turns to look over her shoulder at the young man. “What makes you think someone would want to experiment on you in the first place? What have you got to offer?” “Brains,” Nicky snaps back and by the tone of his voice he’s getting upset. “No matter what this asshole says,” he shoves CC in the shoulder and then disappears back into the back of the jeep, sulking no doubt. Adrian smiles and looks over the back of the seat. “You tell him, Nicky,” he says. He is answered only by a single digit wave of his hand and CC looks curiously at the gesture and wonders what it means. The jeep falls into a calm quiet after that. The GPS is sitting between him and Adrian and he reaches over to pick it up. He turns it over in his hands and looks at the shredded wire the woman was trying to fix. CC reaches into his pocket where he’d picked up the wires she’d discarded and stashed them. Adrian looks over at him curiously for a moment as CC starts pulling wires apart. His fingers are nimble and quick. He concentrates solely on the wires as he begins tying together the parts of four of them. “What are you doing?” Adrian asks. CC looks over at him and notices that the woman in the front seat has turned around and is watching him as well. Frankie has his eyes narrowed and tells her quietly. “Make sure he doesn’t sabotage that fucking thing.” “It will not work fully,” CC explains. “But perhaps with a brief connection, you will be able to see where the next stop would have been were we not waylaid. The drive spoke of many stops along the way and perhaps if they were stops used by the Corporation, there will be someone there who can offer you a part to fix the GPS. Though I doubt they will give it to you willingly.” Frankie snorts. “No one ever does,” he says. CC pulls the shredded wire from the back of the GPS and hands it over confidently to the woman in the front seat. She frowns at him but takes the wire. He inserts the new wire he’s made from the others and clicks a button. The GPS springs to life, the picture fuzzy and dim, but there is a dot clearly pinging on the map. “It will not last long,” he says and then hands the GPS to the woman as well. She looks down at it and then looks up at him with confusion on her face before she turns around to let Frankie see the GPS. Beside him, Adrian is watching him curiously. CC glances over at him and quietly offers him the remains of the wires on his lap, in case he wanted to keep them or was mad he’d picked them up. Adrian glances down at them and lets out a small chuckle. He takes the remains of the wire and shoves them into a pocket on the back of Frankie’s seat. Then he leans back and continues to look at CC, like he’s not sure what to make of him. “Why are you so anxious to help?” he asks at last. Nicky pops up from the back to lean against the seat, interested in the answer. Frankie and the woman look at him as well, while they try to follow the pinging dot on the fading GPS. CC tips his head curiously to the side and thinks about his answer. “I am not sure,” he gives honestly and looks at Adrian. “Is there a reason I should not offer my assistance?” Adrian shrugs. “Well, you have a chance to escape the Corporation or whatever you call it and we’re just bandits who are going to use you. Nicky’s an asshole to you, Evan could care less, and Frankie could shoot you in the head at any moment. You don’t think those are reasons enough?” He coughs after he says all that and CC doesn’t understand the emotion in his voice. CC looks down at his hands and then shakes his head. “I see no other alternatives with a higher probability of survival,” he says and then looks back out the window. He’s unsure what the feeling in his chest is and he’s unsure why he wants to elaborate on that statement, but he does. So he says, “Survivability for both myself and you.” .Wolfie. It looks like a truck stop. There’s a gate across the road leading in and through the binoculars she can see two guards sitting inside looking bored. There are a few more patrolling the yard but they look bored too and she wonders if they’re new to the Wastelands. Behind the gate she can see a couple of the trucks like the one they found ambushed in the road and across from them is a gas station with a pump leading right into the ground. It makes her grin because it looks like they’ve hit pay dirt and it’s surprisingly lucky of them. It’s a refueling station, and that means gas and a new GPS and new parts for the jeep. If they can get in there, anyway.“Fuck yes,” she says. She hands the binoculars to Adrian so that he can see and behind him Nicky is bouncing excitedly. He keeps trying to peer over her brother’s shoulder to get a better look but no one’s let him see so far and all he knows is that somewhere behind the ridge they’re parked on is something that’s got both Frankie and Evan grinning like Cheshire cats. CC waits patiently behind Adrian and Nicky and Evan’s gaze flicks to him for a moment, her smile dimming. She’s not sure what to make of him. She’s not sure she believes that he won’t take off on them but he’s weird enough to tell the truth about that. She doesn’t understand why he’s following them and helping them willingly. Yeah, it’ll keep him alive longer, but it’s still surprising. Adrian lets out a laugh before he turns and hands the binoculars back to Frank. Nicky whines behind him and ducks under his brother’s arm to try and grab them but Frank just snorts and holds them up over his head so his kid brother can’t get to them. He reaches out one hand and ruffles his blonde hair before he shoves him back behind him again and puts the binoculars to his eyes. “Come on Frankie, let me see,” he whines. “What’s out there? What did we find? Are there girls there?” Adrian snorts out a laugh and shoves his little brother in the shoulder. Nicky stumbles but it’s only because he’s too thin, not because his brother pushed him that hard. The kid’s actually taller than everyone but Frank, which annoys Evan when he remembers it, but he’s got no fat and no muscle to speak of. “Like you’d know what to do with a woman if there was,” Adrian says. “Hell yeah I do,” Nicky says, puffing his chest out and jutting his chin. He’s forgotten about the binoculars for the moment, eyes narrowing at his brother. “I bet I’ve gotten laid more than you, Adrian. I’m like… a pussy magnate.” Evan splutters out a laugh and slams the palm of her hand down on the hood of the jeep to try and get it under control. Next to her she hears Frankie let out a booming chuckle, the binoculars falling to his side as he covers his eyes with his hand. Adrian is laughing next to her and it is warm and sincere and makes her feel better just hearing it. He leans his back against the hood and Nicky and CC are the only one’s not laughing, Nicky because the joke’s on him and CC because maybe he’s not sure why it’s funny. “I want to live where you live, Nicky,” Adrian finally says. He’s still laughing, tears in his eyes as he leans against the jeep. He lifts his sleeve to wipe away the tears and the sweat and the dirt and when he’s done he pulls his goggles down over his eyes and tilts his head back towards the sun. Evan takes longer to get herself under control and Frankie’s just holding his head in his hands. “You know what?” Nicky spits. “Fuck you guys. I mean, I bet you’re not even my real family. I was probably adopted or something. Assholes.” He snorts and looks over his shoulder at CC. “What are you looking at? I bet you’ve never gotten any pussy either.” That just makes Evan laugh harder and she buries her head in her arms, her body shaking as she tries to rein it in. Adrian is just shaking his head but Frankie leans an elbow against the roof of the jeep, turning around to look at CC, curious to see if he responds. Frankie’s like that, always pushing everyone’s buttons to see what kind of reaction he can get out of them. He already knows how his family reacts to most things but CC’s new and fascinating to Evan’s big brother and he hasn’t gotten sick of playing puppet master with him. “Well son?” he says, smirking at the man. “You a virgin?” Evan rests her chin on her arms and flicks her eyes behind her. CC has the usual look on his face. He isn’t disturbed or offended. Only Adrian scoffs from next to her and she frowns because she isn’t sure why her brother is getting so protective of Frankie’s new dog. Maybe that’s just his way for saying he’s grateful, because if things work out like they plan then this man could save his life. “I am not sure,” CC says. “I assume you are talking about sexual intercourse. If it is something I have experienced than I have no memory of it.” Frankie laughs and Nicky does too but she thinks it’s just because Frank is, not because he thinks it’s funny. “Trust me son, that’s one of those things I think you’d remember. Hey, you ask nice enough maybe Evan’ll be willing to put out for you. For charity’s sake.” “Go to Hell Frank,” Evan snarls. She’s not laughing anymore and neither is Adrian or Nicky. “That’s right,” Frank drawls. “She probably liked you better with the cuffs on. That’s your type, right Evan?” She knows he’s just trying to push her buttons now. She knows it but it doesn’t stop her from getting angry because she doesn’t want to think about the man her brother’s talking about. He was getting sent to prison last time she saw him and if he’s not still there then he’s dead. She doesn’t know which is worse. She doesn’t know what she should hope for so she doesn’t hope for anything at all. “Frank,” Adrian spits. “That’s enough.” He moves off the jeep and comes to stand next to Evan. His hand settles on her shoulder and she’s surprised at how steady it is but she can’t get herself to look at him. She just keeps glaring at Frankie. After a moment her eldest brother turns his head and spits onto the ground next to their feet. “Just making an observation,” he says. He gives her a wide grin and she looks away, staring across the metal hood of their jeep. There’s heat rising off it and it’s blistering on her face and her arms but she’s used to it by now. They’ve been out here forever and maybe they’ll never get back. Nicky clears his throat, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot and then he moves up to Frankie’s shoulder, trying to look through the binoculars with him. “So what did you find?” he asks again. When Frankie doesn’t answer him he turns around, kicking sand at CC and the man tilts his head at him curiously. Adrian glances over his shoulder with an annoyed slant to his eyes as he looks at his younger brother. “Hey moron,” he says. “You’re the one that fixed the GPS, so where did it lead us?” CC looks calmly back at him. “I do not know,” he says. Nicky frowns and opens his mouth but Adrian doesn’t let him talk. “It’s a refueling station,” he says. “Not a very strongly guarded one, which is stupid out here.” He sighs and runs a hand over his face and then suddenly he’s coughing. He pitches forward and his hand comes out to grasp Evan’s as they tear through his chest and rattle his lungs. He makes an awful, gagging noise and something black and bitter splatters across the ground. “Fuck,” he spits afterwards. Nicky is looking at him like a scared little kid but when it passes he licks his lips and tries to smile. “Well, that’s good for us, right?” he says. “What’s the plan, Frankie? Do we charge in there, guns blazing?” Frankie grins and he leans against the side of the jeep. He’s got a studying look on his face but he’s not looking at Nicky. He’s looking past him to CC and then he waves his hand over. “Come here son,” he says. CC does as he says without hesitation. He walks towards the jeep and he takes the binoculars that Frankie presents him with. Nicky glares at his back and then he sticks his tongue out and drops into a crouch, playing with the dirt as he sulks. Evan’s not comfortable with it but Frankie’s got a grin on his face as he holds them out and he probably just wants to test how serious CC is about survivability. If he turns on them now he’s a dead man. CC takes the binoculars and peers through them at the refueling station. Evan snorts and shakes her head, reaching in her coat for a cigar because it pisses her off that Frankie’s getting such a kick out of toying with him. She pulls out her matches and lights the end of it, puffing smoke in a circle out between her lips as she waits. The smoke floats away up towards the sky and she follows it with her eyes before she finally glances back at CC. His expression never changes and she sighs and kicks at a tire. “I believe any attempt to ram the gate with your vehicle would result in a complete breakdown of its structural integrity and it is unlikely that even at full speed it would do even minimal damage to the gate.” He gives his opinion and then pulls his eyes away, passing the binoculars back to Frankie. “It is also unlikely that the guards would respect any attempt at begging or bartering.” Frankie snorts but the smile doesn’t leave his lips. He takes the cigar from his sister and sticks it between his teeth. “Alright Evan,” he says. “I guess that’s your cue to get your ass down there and ask them nicely.” He waggles his eyebrows at her and she groans. “I hate this game,” she spits. It doesn’t make her hesitate but she’s not happy about it. She pushes herself up on her toes to look down at the refueling station and it’s farther away than she likes. A sigh leaves her lips and then she points her finger at Frankie. “I fucking hate you,” she tells him. He just laughs and shrugs his shoulders at her. Her eyes narrow and then she walks around to the trunk, pulling the canvas up. She removes her guns and changes quickly and she really does hate this game. “Six minutes,” she tells Frank. A sigh leaves her lips and then she shakes her hair out, leaving it wild and tangled around her face. The last things to go are her boots and as soon as they’re off her feet she’s running because the sand is hot and blistering on her feet. She rushes down the sandy ridge and she looks behind her like she’s terrified of something. She’s not. She’s not even afraid this won’t work because the worst that’s going to happen is they just won’t let her in. The wind is hot against her face and she trips once but she does it on purpose. Her knees skin over the sand and she forces herself up and keeps running until she’s pounding across asphalt to the gate. “Halt!” someone shouts, and she ignores them. She slams right up against it and then she starts to scream. “Please!” she yells at them. “Please oh God help me, there’s freaks right behind me.” She sobs and screams and yanks at the gate and she doesn’t know why they always believe her. Maybe because of the words. Maybe because of the roar of the jeeps engine as it launches itself over the dune after her. Or maybe because she’s panicked and half naked because she always changes into a sorry excuse for a dress before she runs down here. Either way there’s a hiss and a man grasping her arms to pull her inside. “Are you okay?” he asks hurriedly. His hands are on her shoulders and she shakes underneath the touch, looking desperately over her shoulder. The jeep is roaring down the hill and there are men rushing to the gate to guard it. The man touching her guides her towards the guardhouse, and he’s looking over his shoulder too. None of them are looking at the girl they brought inside. Not until she’s through the doorway of the guardhouse and she pulls the gun from her belt. She whirls quickly, grasping his arm and shoving him against the door as she jams her gun to the back of his head. “Thanks,” she says. “Couldn’t have done it without you.” Wenston CC holds onto the handle soldered to the top of the jeep interior. He has one hand gripping it firmly and the other is planted on the seat as the jeep sails over a dune and comes down with a hard crash in the sand. Frankie is laughing and CC thinks it’s rather maniacal. Adrian is sitting directly behind him with a gun at the ready. Nicky sits next to him and CC has been placed in the front seat. The jeep lurches and rocks and CC is fairly certain that the structural integrity of the vehicle is at risk. “At the velocity you are accelerating, you will be forced to stop rather rapidly if you intend not to crash into the gate. Such a forceful stop will incur great strain on the human body. I…” he starts to explain to Frankie. The man apparently does not want to listen. “Shut up and enjoy the ride,” Frankie says and he starts laughing again, howling like a wolf as they bound over yet another sand dune and CC determines that perhaps Frankie is already aware of the consequences of such a velocity. They are approaching the gate rapidly and it is more heavily guarded than it was a moment before. Most likely due to the roaring of the jeep’s engine and CC wonders if Frankie needs help fixing it. Perhaps they could find spare parts in the fueling station. “How’s this for a fucking pale horse,” Frankie says. CC frowns and braces himself as Frankie slams the breaks. The jeep jerks and twists on the loose sand. Frankie keeps his hands on the wheel, keeping it in control until the very last minute. The jeep veers to the side and ends up sideways with the driver side up next to the gate. Frankie pulls a gun and aims it out the window. Behind him, Adrian is doing the same. “Hello boys,” Frankie says cheerfully. The guards look confused, like Frankie and the jeep weren’t what they were expecting. In the next moment, their confusion doubles as the doors to the gate begin go to open. Frankie and Adrian start firing after that. “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works,” Frankie is saying as he shoves open the door. CC watches calmly as the guards scatter, but fall one by one. He can see small bursts of red exploding from their bodies as bullets lit through them. When the last guard is down, Adrian throws open his door and CC notices he is shaking. Nicky hops out of the jeep and runs around to the other side to stand by him, grinning. “Shit, did you see that guy’s head explode?” he squawks and whoops in the air with a fist. Adrian looks unimpressed. Frankie toes a body on the ground and they all look up as the door to the guardhouse opens. Evan, which CC has determined is the woman’s name, comes out. She is picking at the red stains on her dress and behind her lies the body of a guard. She looks up at them and points a finger at Frankie. “I said six minutes, asshole.” “I gave you six minutes,” Frankie says and turns around to look through the window at CC. “Out of the jeep, son.” CC nods and swings his door open, coming around the jeep to stand near Adrian. He feels Adrian is the least hostile of them all. When the man starts coughing, CC mimics Evan’s early motion and places a hand on his shoulder as he bends at the waist and spits something up into the sand. When he stands back up, he looks at CC like he’s confused. CC removes his hand and finds the others looking at him oddly. He wonders if he’s done something wrong. Evan is the first to break the silence and she stalks over to Frankie, still pointing a finger at his face. “You only gave me five. I didn’t even have the fucking gate open.” “What can I say,” Frankie says, kicking one of the guard’s over onto his back. He bends down and pulls the man’s dead eyes shut. “Francis James Stark, if St. Peter asks who sent you, friend.” He stands back up and looks over at Evan. “I’m prompt.” “You’re an asshole,” Evan spits and moves to the back of the jeep. CC watches her as Nicky moves off to help Frankie settle the bodies. Adrian stands next to him and his shaking is starting to recede. Evan gives him a look as she starts to pull off her dress and CC averts his eyes because it is impolite to watch. She pulls on her clothes and when she comes around the jeep to stand next to them, she’s pulling her hair back. “Leaving your hair down softens the masculinity of your jawline,” CC says to her. She pauses to give him a scathing look and then pulls her hair back anyway before she marches over to Frankie and says, “Can we at least gag him?” Frankie snorts a laugh but doesn’t answer. Beside CC, Adrian chuckles and shakes his head at him. “You sure know how to sweet talk,” he says lowly. CC frowns. “I do not believe I was engaging in sweet talk. I was merely making an observation on the bone structure of her facial features.” Adrian nods. “Yeah,” he says and chuckles again, patting CC on the shoulder. “Come on,” he gestures CC to follow and he does. Frankie is still bent over the last of the bodies and as they come to stand near him, he looks up at the fueling station. He pulls back some of his dark hair from his face and then stands as well, dusting his hands off on his pants. “Alright,” he says. “Adrian, pull the jeep up to the gas pump. Fill it up and find anything you can store gas in. We might as well clean house while we’re here. Nicky, stay with him and look for anything that looks like we could sell. Don’t wander,” he snaps, pointing a finger at Nicky. “I don’t wander,” Nicky protests. Frankie doesn’t answer him. He just continues with, “Evan, you’re with me and my good buddy CC here,” he says and slings an arm around CC’s shoulders. CC’s not sure what to make of it because he doesn’t think they have known each other long enough to be “good buddies,” but he supposes if Frankie says its true than it must be. Frankie lets go of his shoulders and they begin walking towards a building on the right. He whistles and pats his leg, “Heel, boy,” he says and laughs afterwards. CC’s unsure of the meaning, but he follows them anyway. Evan doesn’t look thrilled and he thinks she actually growls in frustration. She pulls a gun from her hip and points a finger at CC. “You better make yourself fucking useful,” she spits and he still doesn’t understand her hostility. He wonders if he has done something wrong or if she is simply a hostile individual. He thinks about what Frankie said before. “Would it reduce your hostility if I were to reacquire my wrist restraints?” he asks. “Jesus fucking Christ,” is the only answer he gets. .Wolfie. The building turns out to be a barracks. There’s a man in a metal chair by the door but he’s kicked back against the wall with his head propped up on one fist. His eyes are closed and it looks like he slept through the whole fight outside which makes him a shitty guard when it comes right down to it. He snorts and cracks one eye when they come through the doorway and the last thing he sees is the barrel of a gun and Frankie’s smiling face. “Tell the Man that Francis James Stark sent you,” he says, and then he blows his head clean off. The sound wakes up a man in the other room. She can tell by his startled shout and the cursing that follows.She pushes past her brother and kicks the door open. There are actually three of them and the one is hissing at his friend to keep his fucking voice down. He’s still in his underwear because he went for his gun instead of his pants and he’s older than the other two. He’s probably the most experienced so she shoots him first. His friend screams when a bullet rips the man’s jaw clean off. The second one is scrambling across the bed to try and grab the gun from the man’s hands and Frank is laughing from over her shoulder when he shoots the man. It rips through his hand and then Frankie points it at his head. The third man is crying and he slumps down between the beds, covering his head with his hands. “And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder,” Frankie says. “One of the four beasts saying, come and see.” Then he pulls the trigger and he shoots the man on the bed through the chest. He doesn’t die right away. He slumps back against the mattress and he claws at the sheets, dragging himself to the other side of the bed. He leaves a trail of blood behind him and Evan can hear him choking on it as he falls to the ground. Frankie chuckles and then he goes to the man already curled up on the ground. He crouches in front of him and grips the back of his head with one hand, pulling his head away from his hands. The man whimpers and there are tears running from beneath his tightly shut eyes. “Open your eyes son,” he says. The man bites his lip and obeys, cracking them open. “What’s your name?” “William,” the man says. “Please Jesus don’t kill me.” Frankie laughs and shakes his head. “Ah William, Jesus doesn’t live out here in the Wastes.” The kid whimpers again and he is trembling as Frankie gestures his gun at him. Evan rolls her eyes and walks away because she doesn’t need to see this, but she can still hear her brother’s voice. “But listen, in a minute I’m going to send you up to meet his father and when you get there I need you do to me a favor. I need you to make sure you tell him that Francis James Stark sent you. Can you do that for me, William?” Evan pops open a trunk at the end of one of the beds. There are carefully folded clothes and a picture slips out from between them and lands on the floor. There’s a man and his woman and Evan glances at it dully before she pulls out the box of cigars he’s got tucked underneath them. She grins at that and pops the case open, sticking a cigar between her lips. Behind her she hears the kid start to scream and then it gets muffled. She glances over her shoulder and he’s got his gun pressed against his heart and a hand over his mouth. Then he looks over his shoulder. “Come here,” he says to CC. Evan frowns and her gaze flicks from her brother to CC. He’s watching Frankie and she wonders if Adrian’s right and he’s got feelings in there or if it’s just like Nicky thinks and he’s nothing but a robot. Then she looks back at the kid named William and her lip curls. He’s struggling weakly but Frankie’s hand is gripping half his face and he’s got a gun in his other hand. He holds it up towards CC and Evan snarls and pushes herself to her feet in between them. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Frankie?” He snorts and motions for her to get out of the way with the hand still holding the gun. “Sit down and shut up, Evan.” He tilts his head to the side and tries to focus on the man behind her and she can feel her hands curling into fists. “Come here CC,” he says again. She catches movement out of the corner of her eye as the man moves to do as her brother says and if he knows what’s going on or cares then it doesn’t show on his face. Frankie grins and he hands the gun to him handle first. “You ever look a man in the eye when you kill him son?” he asks. He doesn’t wait for an answer because he already knows it. “It’s the closest you’ll get to God without dying.” CC takes the gun carefully and he’s got a calculating look on his face. He turns it over in his hands and she tightens her grip on her gun, bringing it around in front of her so that it’s clasped in both hands. CC just seems interested in the mechanics of it but finally he lifts his head to look at Frankie. “Are you asking me to kill this man?” he asks calmly. Frankie snorts and then his face darkens and his voice lowers. “No son,” he says. “I’m telling you.” CC is watching him and William is kicking and crying on the floor but Frank’s got him pinned down and Evan’s sick of this. She reaches out a hand and yanks the gun from CC’s hands before he can do anything and puts two bullets in the man’s chest. His body jerks when they strike him and blood splatters across her brother’s face. He doesn’t flinch, his eyes focused on Evan now and she doesn’t care if he’s mad or she messed up his little game. She kicks at his boots and shoves his gun roughly at his chest. His hand curls around the barrel but he doesn’t move from his spot on the floor. His hand is still over the dead man’s mouth and his eyes are focused on Evan. “You’re a sick fuck,” she spits at him. “Now let’s get what we came for and go.” She doesn’t look back to see if either of them are following. She scoops the cigars off the floor and tucks them under her arm before she pulls out her knife and cuts the end off the one in her mouth and gets it lit. She drops the match to the floor afterwards and snubs it out with her boots and when that’s done she draws her gun again and makes her way through the barracks. There’s no one else hiding behind or under any of the beds. Not that she checks that thoroughly, but she can hear Frankie smashing around behind her and if there’s blood to spill he’ll sniff it out. Sometimes she wonders if she hates her brother. “Your name is Evan?” CC asks. She starts a little at the question because she just assumed he’d keep following her brother around like a lost puppy dog but maybe it’s her turn to take him for a walk. She glances over her shoulder at him and at best he’s got a curious look on his face and at worst there’s nothing there but a blank slate. She wonders if he’s that way because scientists made him that way or if he’s just another fucked up man in a world already full of them. “I am only asking because typically that is a masculine name and I want to be sure before referring to you by it.” “Yeah, it goes with my masculine jaw line.” She says it between grit teeth, smoke pouring in front of her and then she kicks the door in front of her open. It bangs against the wall and she smirks and rests her gun against her shoulder as she walks out into the mess hall in front of her. It’s not very big and she finds it interesting that there are still trays and food left on their tables. The men are probably lying dead outside in a pile and she pauses to grab an apple off the table and toss it over her shoulder towards CC. She’s a little surprised at how easily he catches it but he doesn’t move to eat it. He turns it over in his fingers with a curious look on his face. “It was not meant as an offensive statement, merely as an observance of your physical features.” She hears Frankie’s boots on the floor before she hears him laugh and she glances over her shoulder. He plucks the apple out of CC’s hands and takes a bite out of it before he drops it back in his palm. “Better watch yourself son,” he says. “Women are pretty sensitive about how you observe their physical features.” He gives a loud, booming laugh after he says it, clapping him on the shoulder. “Go to Hell, Frankie,” she tells him sweetly, and then she kicks the door open. Gunshots blast from inside it and she curses as she presses herself against the wall. Frankie shoves CC to the side against one of the tables and then he levels his gun through the door and starts firing shots. Bullets rip up the table next to him and she sees blood splatter the floor when one of them grazes her brother’s shoulder. She snarls and drops to the ground, spinning on one knee before she yanks on the trigger of her pistol and firing blindly into the room. There’s a shout and a thud and she waves a hand to clear the smoke. There’s one man on the ground and the other holding his chest as blood pulses from between his fingers. He tries to scramble across the ground but his feet slip in the blood underneath him as he gropes for the gun in front of him. Frankie doesn’t wait for him to reach it, stomping forward without hesitation and firing a bullet through the man’s head. When it’s done he curses and spits on the ground, twisting to try and look at his shoulder. CC is pushing himself back to his feet and he glances over at Frankie. He steps cautiously over and tips his head to the side to study the wound. Frankie glances at him and then he snorts out a laugh. “Well?” he says. “Am I gonna live?” He waggles his eyebrows at CC before he looks past him and shoots Evan a wink. She rolls her eyes and kicks the body out of the way as she stomps into the room and then she sucks in a breath because she is looking at something beautiful. There’s weapons and ammo in here and she feels like a kid in the candy store. A wide grin spreads across her face as she pulls the stogie from her lips, puffing smoke out into the air. “It is not a fatal wound,” CC says calmly. “Good because you wouldn’t want to miss this,” she says cheerfully. She sticks her head out the door and Frankie’s working on tying off his arm with his own sleeve. She picks up a rifle and flips it in her hands. “It’s your fucking birthday.” Wenston They don’t let him in the room. Frankie and Evan are rummaging through an assortment of munitions and firearms and every once in a while, one of them will laugh like they’ve found something exciting. CC doesn’t find many things exciting. Not anymore. He can’t really remember if he ever did. It was one of those emotions the scientists had conditioned him not to feel. He does know his adrenaline and heart rate increase in the presence of certain elements. Like food or Frankie’s jeep. Frankie laughs suddenly and reaches over to slap Evan’s arm with the back of his hand. She glares at him and then looks at the gun in his hand. “You think Nicky would like this?” he asks. Evan just snorts and turns back to the stash she’s found. The gun in Frankie’s hand is small. Smaller than his whole hand. It could still kill, but only at close range and if shot at the right body part. “Fucking peashooter,” Frankie chuckles and then turns to look over his shoulder at CC. “You ain’t getting any ideas back there, are you son?” he says, his voice cheerful but a serious look in his eyes. CC tilts his head to the side. “If I am supposed to be contemplating ideas to reach a solution, I’m afraid I am unaware of the problem that was proposed.” They both look at him oddly for a moment and then Frankie snorts, tossing the small gun into a tote bag they’d found inside the room. “I’ll take that as a no.” He pauses and narrows his eyes at CC. “It might be simpler next time if you just say no.” He turns back around and starts picking up more guns. “Waste of time and energy saying all that fancy shit.” Evan lets out an incredulous laugh. “Look who’s talking about a waste of time and energy,” she says. “Every other fucking word out of your mouth is a quote from books nobody cares about anymore.” The words don’t make Frankie mad and he wonders what does make the man upset. So far he has seen all the others angry, but he hasn’t seen Frankie. He’s seen him serious and it usually was when he was pointing a gun at CC’s head, but he hasn’t seen him angry. Instead, Frankie just laughs and gives Evan a playful punch in the shoulder and Evan slaps him back, harder than he had. It only makes him laugh harder. CC finds their interactions interesting. He is aware they are family now, but he’d never been socialized with family mannerisms. It is new to him and he’s unsure what to make of it. Glancing to the side, there is another small room off of the mess hall. From where he’s standing, CC can see a shelf of electronic supplies. He looks back to the two Starks in the munitions closet and says, “There is a collection of electronic devices that have the possibility to be good candidates to salvage a spare part for the GPS within the room to my right.” Frankie glances back at him and squints, like maybe he’s trying to see if CC is lying or up to something. Then he takes a step out of the munitions closet and nods his head towards the room. “Well get at it,” he says. “Make yourself useful like Evan said.” He starts to step back into the room, but then pauses and points a finger at CC. “And remember what I said about taking off or trying anything.” CC nods. “If I try to hurt you or yours or make a break for it, you will make sure you put the fear of dying in me and the fear of God and when you are done he won’t recognize me enough to put a name to me at the pearly gates,” CC recites. Frankie watches him for a moment, like he’s trying to decide if CC is mocking him and CC wants to tell the man he is indeed not, but then Frankie snorts and waves him off. “Go on, then.” As CC turns to go to the room, he hears Evan say, “I don’t trust him.” CC doesn’t take offense. They barely know each other and trust takes time to acquire. “What’s he going to do?” Frankie says back and he is not trying to keep his voice low like Evan. “Bore us to death with random facts?” “Just watch your fucking pet is all I’m saying,” Evan spits back at him. CC steps into the room and heads to the box on the shelves. He begins to dig through it and there are a few possibilities that could work with the GPS. He doesn’t find an exact match, but it may get them something out of it. A small noise comes from his right and he lifts his eyes glance that way before he turns to look. In the corner of the room, a man sits and his face is red and tear stained. He has his knees pulled up and he has his hands pressed together in front of him, against his lips. He looks young. He makes very little noise but he crushes his eyes shut when CC looks at him. He can see him mouth the word “please” before he opens his eyes again and looks at him. For a moment, CC is unsure what to do. He knows what Frankie and Evan would do. He knows what they probably would want him to do. But there is an illogical feeling of dread when he thinks about it. He isn’t sure, but he wonders if he feels a connection of humanity with this man. He cannot know for sure because it is not something he can physically analyze or understand and so he doesn’t do anything. CC turns his head back to the box and he ignores the man in the corner. He hears the man go absolutely quiet but he doesn’t look back over at him. He pulls more wires out of the box and puts them in his pocket before he pushes the box back onto the shelf and straightens it neatly. He walks back out of the room and he leaves the man crying silently in the corner and he wonders if this is what mercy is. He is familiar with the word, but the concept is still hard for him to grasp. “I have chosen the most likely candidates from the selection available,” CC announces as he comes to stand near the munitions closet again. Frankie turns to look at him and he eyes him up and down. “You didn’t pick up any weapons back there, did you, son?” CC frowns and shakes his head. “There were none at my disposal.” Frankie snorts and then zips up the tote bag. Beside him, Evan does the same and slings it over her shoulder. She walks out of the room first, a new gun in her hand and she shoves by CC. Frankie saunters slowly behind her, grinning as he wraps an arm around CC’s shoulders and starts to walk back out. “You be a good boy and maybe one day I’ll get you a gun of your very own,” he says and waggles his eyebrows. CC tries to mimic the movement and it makes Frankie laugh before he releases him. “Define good,” CC says. Frankie snorts. “You’re a fucking comedian.” .Wolfie. “Merry Christmas,” Evan says slyly. “Have you been a good boy this year?”She can’t help the grin on her face when she holds the rifle up in front of her twin brother. Adrian’s sitting on the hood of the jeep, his head resting in one hand and the other resting on one knee. He’s sweating but she doesn’t know if it’s from the sickness or the heat. It could be a combination of the two but she doesn’t ask and it doesn’t make her smile any less honest as she holds the gun by a black strap. Adrian snorts and he does his best to sit up and take the weapon she’s offering him. “Nope,” he says. “But last I checked you’re not Santa Clause. Though I don’t know, you’ve got a good start on the gut…” Evan laughs and punches him in the arm, lighter than she would have punched Frank. “Just for that I should give this to Nicky,” she tells him. Adrian laughs and maybe that’s the only reason she drops it in his arms anyway. He’s grinning as he turns the weapon over in his hands, studying it carefully before he pulls it to his shoulder and sights along the barrel. Evan jumps up next to him and digs the cigar out of her pocket. They’re not the best but she’s never been picky. “What about me?” Nicky whines, bouncing a little on his toes. He was playing with his gun when they came out but he holsters it quickly and saunters over to Frankie and the bag he’s got thrown over his back. “What do I get?” Frank laughs and puts his hand on Nicky’s head, mussing his hair as he grins down at him. “That every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God,” he tells him. Evan rolls her eyes and lights her cigar with a match, glancing behind him at CC. The man’s just watching them all with that curious expression and she wonders if he would have shot Billy in there. “So… liquor?” Nicky says hopefully. Evan snorts out a laugh and Adrian looks over his shoulder at him, lowering his gun. “What, so you can throw up all over the back of the jeep again?” He snorts and ignores the rude gesture Nicky directs his way, pointing a finger at Frankie. “You give the kid alcohol then you’re going to be the one holding his hair and cleaning up after him.” Frankie laughs and then he pulls the peashooter out of his pocket, tossing it to their kid brother. He fumbles a little when he tries to catch it but once it’s settled in his palm a look of disappointment crosses his face. He picks it up by the handle and dangles it over the dirt. “Aw come on Frankie, really?” he says. “Adrian got an awesome gun, why can’t I have an awesome gun?” “Size doesn’t matter, kid,” Frankie says. “So I’ve heard.” He laughs at his own joke and then claps Nicky on the back. The kid groans and slumps against the side of the jeep, staring dejectedly at the miniscule gun before he shoots a jealous look over at Adrian. Frankie’s still laughing, even as he goes to the back of the jeep and tries to find room for their new guns and ammo. There probably won’t be much room back there after this, but they’ll find a way to make it fit because they’re not getting rid of the jeep. “Actually a gun that size is unlikely to do much damage except in a close quarters situation. Even then you would have to be particular about where you aim to cause a fatal or even crippling wound to an opponent,” CC says calmly. Evan laughs and points her cigar at Nicky with a grin on her face. “Hear that? Even the science experiment says size matters. So don’t listen to Frank on this one.” Adrian chuckles next to her and she nudges him with her shoulder before she jumps down. “You get the jeep all fueled?” she asks. She says it through grit teeth because she’s trying to hold onto the stogie in her mouth. Her hair’s falling out of the knot she put it in and she reaches back to fix it as she studies her brother. His hands are steady for the moment as he examines his gun and maybe it helps having something else to focus on. Adrian snorts and glances up at her. “Of course,” he says. Then he nods his head to the back and she follows his gaze. Nicky is leaning against the side of the jeep and he’s making faces at CC and trying to get a reaction out of him. The man’s just watching him curiously. Her oldest brother is whistling as he puts guns and ammo in the back. “Frank okay? That wound’s not serious, right?” “I could probably kill you with it from right here,” Nicky’s saying. He points the gun at CC’s head and makes a whistling sound. “Bang, bang,” he says, jerking his hand like he’s actually fired the thing before he brings it to his lips to blow imaginary smoke away. “It is likely,” CC says calmly. “Or at least cause some form of permanent brain damage.” “I think you’re already brain damaged,” Nicky says. He sticks his tongue out at CC and the man stares at him curiously like he’s not sure what to make of the motion. “You’re the one who got wires shoved in his head or whatever. They probably replaced parts of you with microchips and you don’t even know it. Maybe you’re like a sleeper assassin or something. Shit, that would be fucking cool.” Evan rolls her eyes and blows smoke out from between her lips before she looks back at Adrian. “Please,” she says, slapping her brother in the knee with the back of her hand. “He already forgot it’s there.” “CC,” Frank calls. He pulls the canvas down over the trunk and grins when the man comes trotting obediently over to him. He tosses the GPS at him and he catches it with both hands. Frank grins and then throws an arm around his shoulder, guiding him back to the side of the jeep. “You’re going to fix this for me now, right my good buddy?” he asks. It’s not really a question and if the man’s half as smart as he comes off then he probably understands that. If he doesn’t, Frank will make sure he does in a minute. He turns the GPS over in his hands and climbs into the backseat of the jeep. Frank waits by the door and he’s holding himself stiffer than he was a minute ago. She can’t blame him. This could be their route back, the golden road they’ve been waiting for. She feels a sliver of fear run down her spine because they don’t know if dad’s alive. They don’t know if he’s still in the city or if he’s in any shape to help them but she tries to believe it. If she doesn’t then she won’t remember what they’re doing any of this for and she’ll get hit with the knowledge that her brother’s going to die and nothing they can do will stop it. CC’s fingers are quick and nimble as he pulls out the makeshift cord he made them before. Evan watches him through the dirty windshield as he pulls out whatever he’s gathered from inside the building and starts to rip and twist wires together. She wonders where he learned all this shit and if he’s really what he says he is. She doesn’t know what the point of lying would be, but still. “We shouldn’t be hanging around here,” Adrian says next to her. She glances at him and he’s got his head in his hands again, the gun sitting next to him and his body trembling. She reaches a hand out to hold his and he squeezes her fingers tightly. Frankie glances at him and he snorts. “We’re staying here until we know it works,” he says. “What if another transport shows up?” Adrian asks. Frank just laughs and leans his head back towards the sky. “Then we kill them and we take their GPS instead,” he says. “Really, I don’t see the problem here.” There’s no hesitation in his voice and she hears Adrian sigh as he scrubs his hand across his face. Evan thinks he’s the only one with a conscience left and some part of her wonders if that’s why he’s the one that’s sick. Maybe she and Frank are already close enough to the freaks that it doesn’t matter if their genes start mutating or not. There’s a beep and all four of them look immediately towards CC. There’s something blinking on the screen and then he holds the GPS up towards Frank. “The main battery is dying,” he says. “But if you turn it off when you’re not using it then it should help preserve it. As long as it doesn’t sustain any further damage than there shouldn’t be any more problems.” Evan lets out a breath she doesn’t know she’s been holding and she feels Adrian squeeze her hand. She looks down at him and his eyes are closed but she sees him smile before he puts the hand over his mouth. He looks away and stares out over the desert. “Fuckin’ A right,” Frank says. He slaps CC on the back and then he moves around towards the driver’s side. “You know son, you’re turning out to be the best thing I ever stole.” He chuckles afterwards and then he lays on the horn. Evan can’t help the startled yell that leaves her lips when she drops her stogie. Adrian curses and puts his hands over his ears before he turns around to flip his older brother off and inside the jeep Frank’s just laughing his ass off. “Come on you motherfuckers,” Frank shouts. “See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the lord swore he would give to your fathers.” Evan snarls another curse and grabs her bag off the ground, waiting until Adrian slides off the hood and climbs into the backseat next to CC. Nicky crams in next to them and he’s still sulking because he didn’t get a good enough present so she passes him her stogie before she climbs into the passenger seat. “Hey thanks,” he says, grinning as he sticks it between his teeth. “I assumed you shared a common father,” CC says from the backseat. “Was incorrect in this assumption?” Evan snorts and rolls her eyes as she settles in next to her oldest brother. She kicks her feet up on the dashboard and then Frank’s shoving the GPS in her lap and starting up the jeep. It’s getting dark out but it’s probably better that way. They need to stop some place eventually but she’s with Adrian on this one. She doesn’t want to hang out in a city refueling station when she doesn’t know who’s supposed to be stopping by next. “I’m telling you,” she says, glancing over at him. “Gag him.” Frankie laughs and shakes his head, yanking the jeep into reverse and spraying sand across the ground as it shudders and tries to obey. “I’m not going to gag him,” he says. “He’s my good buddy.” He grins at CC in the mirror and waggles his eyebrows at him. “Isn’t that right, son?” Evan lets out a heavy sigh and slumps back farther in her seat, covering her eyes with her hand. Wenston It starts to get dark shortly after they leave the fueling station. CC sits between Adrian and Nicky in the backseat and in front of them, Evan and Frankie are silent. Every so often, Evan flips the GPS on to see where the pinging dot on the screen is and then shuts it off. He wonders if she just wants to be reminded of their destination, because there is no logical reason to check it so frequently. “Move over,” Nicky says suddenly and he pushes CC with his knee and shoulder. CC hits Adrian on the other side, who lifts his head to give Nicky a glare and then puts his head back onto his hand resting on the door. He is shaking again. “I don’t want your dumb moron knee touching mine.” CC pulls his knees together and slumps his shoulders inward while he’s at it, in case that is causing the youngest of them discomfort. He frowns and looks at Nicky. “I am afraid I have no unoccupied space in which to reposition myself. Perhaps if you straightened your spine and did not stretch your legs so much, we would not be trying to occupy the same space.” Nicky scoffs and shoves at him again. “Maybe if you just shut up and occupy your own space instead of mine, I won’t have to shoot you in your knee,” he says and pulls his small gun out, pressing it to CC’s kneecap. CC is fairly certain he will not pull the trigger. So far the youngest of them has mostly just talked a lot, but he has yet to engage in hostile actions with anyone. Adrian sighs and runs a hand over his eyes. “We should stop soon,” he says. Evan turns to look at him over her shoulder and CC notes the concern in her eyes, even if she keeps the emotion out of her facial expressions. He understands the concern is a reaction to the weariness in Adrian’s voice as he speaks. From the driver’s seat, Frankie clears his throat. “I think those freak genes are making you a fucking mind reader,” he says cheerfully. Adrian sighs and stays quiet and CC doesn’t miss the pinched look Evan gives the eldest. “We’re living in the lap of luxury tonight.” He drives a little further, but veers to the right as he comes over a dune and they can see the outline of a building in the headlights. Frankie parks the jeep and they all look out the passenger side to the building he’s found. A large sign in front of them reads, “Jim’s Motel” and a smaller sign swings by a broken chair saying, “No Vacancy.” The sign is covered in dust and sand. Behind it is an L-shaped building with many doors. Some of them are broken down or open. Others are closed. A few of the windows are shattered and CC doesn’t think anyone has been here in a while. “Jackpot,” Nicky grins, turning back to look at Frankie and the two of them grin at each other before hopping out of the jeep. Frankie rounds the vehicle and stands next to his youngest brother. CC glances at Adrian and he just looks tired, but when he notices CC’s gaze on him, he smiles. “This place looks like a fucking freak magnet,” Evan spits and then climbs out of the jeep as well. Adrian follows her and CC scoots towards the door, sitting with his legs hanging out as he watches them inspect the building from afar. Adrian coughs and spits something into the sand. The sun is setting behind them and even the darkened sky doesn’t stop the heat in the desert. The moon is bright over their heads and casts a blue haze on everything. “It’s got beds,” Adrian says quietly and he exchanges a look with Evan. Her face softens a little and turns back to look at the building. She pulls her gun out of her holster and looks to Frankie. “Leave it to you to find the one fucking motel still standing in the middle of the desert,” she says. Frankie snorts out a laugh and pulls his own gun out. “Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to,” he says, holding his hands out to the side as he starts walking towards the building. Evan snorts. “What have you given him?” she asks, clicking the safety off her gun and starting to follow him. CC sits still for a moment before he jumps out of the jeep and begins to follow. He’s unsure if he should, because he wasn’t told to do so, but he assumes they do not want him alone with their jeep and weapons. “Company,” Frankie says, distracted by something near the corner of the building. He holds out his hand, motioning for the others to stop and then he brings his gun up and yells, “Any freaks home out here?” His voice echoes off the building and gets lost across the desert. Only silence and the wind answer him and after a moment, he drops his arms and scratches at his neck, still looking at the spot in the corner he’d been staring at before. “Well, pick a room.” Adrian is shaking and his voice is strained when he says, “Maybe one with its doors and windows intact.” As soon as he’s done, he starts coughing and it’s violent and wet. He bends over and the others turn to look at him. Evan strides over and she wraps an arm around his waist, holding him up. Her eyes raise to Frankie and they exchange a look CC doesn’t understand. “This one looks about right,” Frankie says, waving his gun to one of the rooms on the far side. They start walking and Evan keeps her arms around Adrian, who is pale and sweating, his whole body shaking violently. “CC,” Frankie calls and his eyes snap up towards Frankie. The man waves him forward and CC trots over to him, walking alongside him. “You know what a saving grace is?” he asks and he doesn’t look at CC. CC shakes his head. “The term is unfamiliar to me,” he says. Frankie nods and steps ahead of CC to slowly open the door. He peers inside and walks in with his gun in front of him, checking all the corners and hidden spaces, beneath the beds, before he turns around and signals it’s okay for them to come in. Evan helps Adrian to the nearest bed where he all but collapses. She sits down next to him, pulling her jacket off and her fingers run comfortingly through his hair as his shaking continues. Coming back over to CC, Frankie slaps a hand on his shoulder and guides him to a spot opposite the beds, near the wall and in between two dressers. He forces him to sit down and then crouches in front of him. Nicky hops onto the other bed in the room, bouncing a little to test it out and then falls backward, his hands behind his head and gives a relieved sigh. “A saving grace means that when all hope is lost, something comes along to pull us up from the darkness,” Frankie explains. CC frowns and he isn’t sure he understands. Frankie points at CC with the gun, but his finger isn’t on the trigger. “Not everyone has a saving grace and not everyone gets one dropped into their fucking laps. But the thing I want you to understand, is that whether you’re breathing or cold and rotted, you’re still gonna be a saving grace. You understand me, son?” CC tips his head to the side. “You are telling me it does not matter whether I am alive or dead, you will extract that which you need from me either way.” Frankie smiles and nods. “That’s right,” he says and pats CC’s shoulder. “You make me laugh, so I won’t put a bullet in you now. But you give me a reason to and I won’t shed a tear. You understand that?” CC nods. “I believe so,” he says. “Good,” Frankie says and pats CC’s cheek before he stands up, walking towards the bed Nicky has occupied. He forcefully pushes Nicky to the other side of the bed and the kid scoffs and growls, but doesn’t say anything as Frankie sits down and starts pulling his guns off, placing them on the table between the beds. CC settles back against the wall and folds his legs in. He lets his hands rest in his lap and he tips his head to the side, resting against the dresser. He looks up only when he hears someone get up and when he lifts his gaze, he sees it’s Adrian. The man is still shaking, but he is walking over with an extra pillow. He holds it out towards him and CC looks at it for a moment before lifting his gaze to Adrian’s face. After a moment, he takes the pillow and Adrian starts to turn back around to go to the bed again. The others are looking at him oddly and CC holds the pillow near to his chest. “Thank you,” he says and it makes Adrian pause. He looks back at CC and his shaking lessens even as he stands there. “You’re welcome.” .Wolfie. Evan keeps her hand on her brother’s shoulder and isn’t sleeping even though she knows she should. He is shaking next to her and thick wet coughs pull their way from his throat. She stares at the wall and she doesn’t think anyone in the room is sleeping except maybe CC. She can’t tell with him. His eyes are closed and maybe he’s trying but if she were him than she’d never sleep, not in the same room as Frankie. Her brother keeps a gun under his pillow at all times and even if he didn’t she’d still be scared.Adrian shifts next to her and he coughs again, covering his mouth with his arm. He groans and rolls over onto his back, hand clutching at his chest and trembling on the bed. Evan’s face contorts with pain as she watches him, fingers squeezing his shoulder. There are memories floating the back of her head right now of when her brother was just as strong and healthy as the rest of them. They’re twins but he’s always treated her like his little sister and she lets him get away with it because they’ve been best friends since birth. She wishes she could see the moment when that all changed but he hid it from them as long as he could. “What do you miss the most about home?” Adrian asks. The sound of his voice is harsh and the words come off even harsher. His eyes are focused on the ceiling and he’s trembling underneath her fingers. “I don’t know,” she tells him. She’s not sure what to say or what the truth is because home seems a long time and a long ways away. She thinks about mom and dad but she doesn’t say either of those things because she’s not sure that’s what she misses most. She thinks about a man but she doesn’t say that either because she’s not going to admit that kind of thing where Frankie can hear. Adrian is quiet next to her and she wonders if he’s waiting for her answer or if he’s just thinking about what it is he misses most. She doesn’t ask him. She listens to the wind outside and she wonders just how far away that little blue dot on the machine is. She wonders if her brother’s going to hold out that long or if somewhere between here and there she’s going to wake up and see a dead man. It hurts that dead is the best they can hope for if that day comes. “I miss Riley,” he says abruptly. Evan looks at his face and her voice is quiet because he doesn’t talk about her often. “You think she waited for you?” He laughs but he doesn’t really mean it. It turns into a cough and he turns his head to the side so that he can spit off the side of the bed. When he rolls back next to her he shakes his head, focusing back on the ceiling. “No,” he says. He’s trying so hard not to let the emotion show in his voice that it says all she really needs to hear about what he’s feeling. “But I don’t really expect her to.” Evan smirks and she listens to the wind howl outside. The desert’s doing its best to wipe away any sign that there are people still out here and what the desert doesn’t finish off the freaks do. She wonders if her brother will remember anything about who he is if the sickness in his chest finally takes over his body. She wonders if he’ll still remember Riley’s name or her face or if he’ll recognize his brothers or his sister when he opens his eyes and sees them. She’s not sure she wants to know the answer. She tells herself that’s not going to happen. She turns her head and she can CC with his head against the wall, a pillow held in his arms like a teddy bear. She wonders if understands it’s supposed to go behind his head. She doesn’t explain it to him. She studies him for a moment and maybe he’s a man but that’s not what she sees when she looks at him. She sees hope. Maybe that’s stupid but they’re on their way back to the city and he’s got something in his blood that might wipe away the black stain under Adrian’s skin and she can’t help herself. She doesn’t think about what’ll happen after they get there, only that they suddenly have a shot at it now. They haven’t had that kind of hope in years and she shifts next to Adrian. She smiles at him in the darkness even if he can’t see it and shrugs her shoulders. “She might,” she tells him. “She adored you.” He laughs and then he shakes his head again. “Yeah,” he admits. “But I don’t see it happening.” He shakes his head like he doesn’t want to think about it anymore and she can’t blame him. Then he rolls on his side so that he can look at her and he shoots her a grin. His voice lowers slightly but then he says the words she doesn’t want to hear. “You miss Saul?” he asks. “I miss having sex with him,” she says. She grins and waggles her eyebrows at Adrian and he just laughs and shoves her hard in the shoulder. She slaps him in the shoulder in return and he just smirks and closes his eyes like he wants to sleep. She watches him for a moment and she’s not sure if she really wants to answer him but then she says it anyway. “I miss the rain,” she tells him, so that he doesn’t ask anything else. The smile on his face dies as he looks at her. There are dark circles under his eyes and something black on the edge of his lips. She pretends she doesn’t see any of. “I’m not sure I remember what it looks like.” “Looks like God pissing on the world,” Frankie says from the next bed over. “Oh yeah?” she asks. “And how’s that different from every other day?” Evan laughs and her head turns to the side to look at her brother. His eyes are closed and he’s got a contented smile on his lips, his arms folded under his head. “I miss mom,” Nicky says from his sliver of the bed. Frankie laughs but he’s the only one. He smacks his little brother in the arm with the back of his hand and calls him something rude but Evan just keeps looking over at the opposite bed. Frankie’s in the way so she can’t see him but she wonders if the kid’s crying. She should make fun of him for it but he sounds so sad and sincere when he says the words. She can’t blame him. He’s the youngest and it him hardest when she died. The rest of them knew how to deal with it by then. “I miss the whores,” Frankie says cheerfully. “Cleaner than the ones out here.” Adrian groans from next to her and puts his arm over his eyes like he can pretend he’s not hearing that if he’s not looking. Then Frankie snorts and his eyes open as he turns to look at her, pointing a finger at her face. “Nah,” he says. “You know what I miss? Nietzsche.” Evan scoffs and next to her Adrian rolls his head to the side to look at CC. “Hey,” he calls quietly. The man doesn’t respond at first but after a moment he cracks one eye to look at Adrian. “You miss anything about the city?” he asks. CC straightens up, his head pulling away from the wall and his arms tightening around the pillow. His brow furrows like he’s confused by the question and she wonders if he’s capable of missing anything. If she were a science experiment she’d be happy to get away from that place, even if it was just to the fucking wasteland. “My experiences do not lend themselves to any sort of nostalgia regarding where I have been. Perhaps I miss the potential for furthering my knowledge but other than that I hold no attachments to either the people or the places I have visited previously. Of course, this is all based on the memories that I currently possess.” They’re quiet for a second and then she hears Nicky clear his throat. “And I miss porn,” he says. Frankie laughs and then there’s a thump as he shoves his kid brother off the bed. Nicky shouts and curses and then she can see his silhouette as he pushes himself back to his feet, brushing the dust off his shirt. “What about your name?” Frankie demands, his head turned towards CC. The man turns all his focus towards Frankie at the question. “You don’t miss that?” He shakes his head, his hand going to his neck and running his fingertips over the numbers. “I do not see how I can miss something that I am not familiar with. I think it is entirely possible that I regret not knowing it but I cannot miss it if I do not know it.” “You think maybe those are your initials or something?” Adrian asks. He’s watching the man and Evan doesn’t understand why her brother’s so protective of him. Adrian’s probably the nicest out of them but she doesn’t know why he cares so much if the guy’s got a fucking pillow or if he even lives through next week. Either way, they’ve got his blood. She rests her head against her brother’s shoulder and he squeezes her hand as he looks at CC. “Maybe that’s why your number starts with those letters.” Frank laughs and he tilts his head at CC. “You know,” he said. “I read a book like that once.” Evan rolls her eyes and Adrian laughs quietly next to her. “Man lost his memory right at the beginning and spends the next half of the book trying to get it back. He went by Carl Corey. Course, that wasn’t his real name, but fuck, maybe it’s yours. That sound any kind of familiar?” “It does not,” CC says. “If that is my name than I have no recollection of it.” He rests his head against the wall again and Frank just stares at him for a moment. She doesn’t want to know what her big brother’s thinking. “Well,” he says at last. “Maybe that’s what I’ll call you anyway, Carl.” He chuckles and then he settles back down on the bed, lacing his arms beneath his head again. He’s still got a lazy smile on his lips and it’s probably because he’s got the whole bed to himself. Next to him Nicky makes a face and then he yanks the comforter off and tosses it down on the floor before he follows. “It’d help your case, getting into heaven if you’ve got a real name to go by, but hell, it’s not my eternal soul. You do what you want with it.” “If that is not my name than I do not want God to get confused about who I am when I reach the pearly gates,” CC says calmly. She snorts and wonders if he’s really buying into all of Frankie’s religious bullshit or if he’s just saying it to keep the man calm. She can’t blame him if it’s the second one. “I believe I will continue to go by CC until I learn otherwise.” “I think you should go by cock sucker,” Nicky tells him, his voice petulant and irritated. “Sucker starts with an S, Nicky,” Adrian says dryly. He doesn’t even open his eyes. Nicky is quiet for a moment and then he grumbles. “Close enough.” Wenston .two. “Would you rather be shot or stabbed?” CC sits in the middle of the backseat. Frankie is driving as always, with Adrian sitting next to him. Nicky and Evan share the backseat with CC and neither of them are giving him much room to move. CC sits with his knees together and his arms crossed over his waist and he doesn’t understand the concept of Nicky’s new game. It is mostly speculation and the scenarios he is bringing up are highly unlikely to become a choice of his ever. No one else seems to be answering his questions and CC is unsure why his personal opinion matters. “My answer would depend on what position the wound would be sustained on my body,” he says. Next to him, Evan snorts and kicks back further in her seat, her boots coming to rest on the back of Adrian’s seat. Adrian’s head is resting against the window and he looks tired, but less shaky today. Beside him, Nicky groans rather dramatically and kicks the back of Frankie’s seat. The man looks up in the rearview mirror but not even the violence against his chair can deter the lazy smile on his face. “Why can’t you ever just answer a question?” Nicky complains. “Perhaps if your questions were not obtuse and contained specific details, I would be able to answer your inquiries on a more frequent basis.” CC asks and he glances up at Adrian when he starts laughing. Nicky scoffs. “Just because you talk smart doesn’t mean you are. You’re still a moron.” He sits up a little and pulls the tiny pistol from a pocket on his cargos. He twirls it on a finger and then points it at CC’s head. “Okay, moron, would you rather get shot or stabbed in the head?” CC tips his head to the side in contemplation. “What caliber and make is the firearm and what class is the object I would be stabbed with? It is entirely possible to be stabbed with many things. A pencil for instance. And at what distance would the individual causing me harm be standing?” “Jesus Christ, you want me to draw you a fucking picture?” Nicky spits and pulls his gun back, leaning forward and pouting a little as he tries to think of another question. Evan laughs and reaches over CC to pull the gun away from Nicky. He gives an angry yell but Evan shoves him away from her and leans back in her seat. “Okay then, science experiment,” she says and he glances at her. She’s looking at him coolly and her eyes are narrowed. “A .45 handgun at 50 yards away or a standard issue city knife from two feet away.” From the front seat, Frankie snorts. “They’re both weak.” “You’re not bullet proof,” Adrian tells him. “My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation,” Frankie says and waggles his eyebrows at Adrian. The sick man simply rolls his eyes and goes back to leaning his head against the window. CC looks back towards Evan and she is still watching him, waiting for an answer. “On the presumption that accuracy, precision and friction are given variables, the blade has a higher percentage of chance for survival and therefore I would prefer that chosen route.” “So you’d prefer to be a vegetable than a corpse?” Frankie asks from the front seat and his voice has taken on a serious tone. Beside him, Nicky shrinks a little in his chair and Adrian turns his head to look at the man. CC merely frowns. “I do not see where consumables correlate to the scenario.” Frankie’s eyes are narrowed at him in the rearview mirror and it takes a moment, but then he’s laughing. CC wonders if he has missed something. “You know, Carl,” he says and CC frowns and is fairly certain he declined that name the previous night. “Sometimes I think you’re just fucking with us. But then you go and say shit like that and no one in their right mind can fake the shit that comes out of your mouth without cracking a smile. You do know how to smile, don’t you son?” his eyes come to the mirror again. “I am aware of the 26 muscles it requires for me to smile,” CC says and his face stays straight as always. “Classic,” Frankie says and shakes his head, laughing as he looks back out at the desert spanning out in front of them. He reaches across the space and hits Adrian with the back of his hand. The man lifts his head to look at him with a frown and then puts his head back down. Nicky sits up again and points a finger at CC like he’s come to a conclusion to some mystery. “Okay, moron, here’s a question you can’t mess up with your smart talk. Would you rather burn to death or freeze to death?” CC frowns and looks down at his lap. “The sensations are too similar in nature to ascertain a preference,” he says. Nicky sighs. “How would you know? You ever been burned or frozen?” he snorts and laughs afterwards. “Yes,” CC says and the jeep grows quiet for a moment. He doesn’t elaborate and doesn’t explain. He doesn’t lift his head to see their reactions and a part of him is familiar with the sensation in his chest but a part of him thinks it is odd to be having it now. He thinks it’s shame or guilt. Or fear. Sometimes he cannot tell the difference. The jeep jerks suddenly as Frankie slams on the breaks. Nicky flies forward and hits the back of Adrian’s seat. Evan manages to twist so her shoulder strikes Frankie’s chair and CC is able to get his hands out and keep himself from flying into the front of the vehicle. “What the fuck, asshole,” Evan spits as she pulls herself back up onto the seat. Adrian turns to give them a concerned look over his shoulder. Nicky groans and rubs at his forehead, pulling himself up a little slower and CC just sits back in the same position he was in. Frankie doesn’t answer but he pulls his gun out and checks the barrel. “Nicky, stay here,” he says and that seems to catch their attentions. There are three vehicles in front of the jeep. Two of them are vans of some sort and the third is a truck. One of the vans is tipped onto its side in the sand. Blood is smeared onto the side of the van and disappears into the open door. They can’t see inside. Frankie pulls his mask down over his face and opens the door. Next to CC, Evan spits, “Fuck,” before pulling her own mask on. She glances towards Adrian who is straightening his goggles and pulling out his rifle. “That blood looks fresh,” she says. Adrian nods. “They might still be out there,” he says quietly and they watch Frankie move out in front of the jeep, his gun drawn. “The freaks?” Nicky asks and his voice sounds scared, though he is trying to mask it. CC tips his head to the side and narrows his eyes at the abandoned vehicles. Adrian and Evan climb out of the jeep and stand next to Frankie. Adrian takes a spot near the jeep and nods to the others as they start to walk out there. CC crawls to the door and behind him, Nicky snorts. “I bet the freaks eat you first.” .Wolfie. Evan’s scared. She recognizes the feeling for what it is and she doesn’t like it but it doesn’t go away. Men don’t scare her anymore. It doesn’t matter if she’s outnumbered and outgunned or if they’re facing down bandits or facing down soldiers. She’s not scared of men because she’s been in the wasteland too long and no matter how fucked up the men out here can get, they’re still human. Even Frankie and he’s the most fucked up man she knows. She isn’t scared of men, but she is terrified of the freaks. Frankie moves out ahead of her towards the truck and she follows close behind him. Adrian’s got his rifle held to his shoulder and his elbow braced on the hood of the jeep to keep his hands steady. Nicky’s waiting in the backseat with CC and she’s not worried that he’s going to get stupid and come out of the jeep because at the end of the day he’s still a scared little kid. Frankie’s gun is in his hands and his feet sound louder than they are against the desert sand. Every movement is hard and calculating as he walks up to the tailgate and yanks on it with his fingers before he takes a quick step back and lifts the gun. The metal bangs open and Evan bites her tongue to keep from making any noise. A man slumps on top of it as soon as the metal gate falls down but he’s not going anywhere. He’s already dead, and Evan’s seen her share of dead men but the ones left by the freaks are always the worst. He’s missing his jaw and his tongue, the blood still running fresh down his cheeks and falling brightly to the dust. His chest is split open and his ribs are peeled back like he’s a fucking stuffed turkey. As far as she can tell there are no organs left in the gaping cavity but she doesn’t get close enough to make sure. There are already flies landing on his face. Evan swallows down the bile in her throat and then she turns to look at Adrian. “It’s freaks all right,” she tells him. Frankie doesn’t say anything. She doubts he feels bad but he crosses his chest anyway and he doesn’t tell the man to pass his name on to God or St. Peter. She asked him why once and he told her flat out that anything killed by the freaks isn’t going to see the pearly gates. Their souls are going straight to Hell because God wants nothing to do with this kind of abomination. He leaves the body there and walks carefully around to the driver’s side door. He pops it open and something bloody and dark slithers out onto the sand but Evan can’t even tell what it is anymore. There’s blood on the windshield and the door and she is scared. Frankie snorts and steps back away from the truck, tilting his head to make sure nothing else is lingering inside and then he turns to the van in the middle. It’s the one on its side, blood already smeared on the door and the ground around it. He walks steadily over towards it, his gun held at the ready and Evan stays back a few feet and to his left so that she and Adrian both have a clear shot if anything comes out of that van. Her eldest brother is almost to the doors when they hear it and he freezes in place. It sounds like crunching. It sounds like the snapping and popping of bones and that’s probably exactly what it is. Frankie turns his head towards the sound and it’s coming from the van all the way to their left. One door is hanging open and the back of it is facing out into the desert where they can’t get a clear view of what’s inside. Evan feels the fear clutching at her heart and she doesn’t like it. There’s blood rushing in her ears as she makes her way towards the back of the van. Frankie takes the lead and she lets him without a fight because this is one time that she needs her big brother to make the bad things go away. He stops near the doors and she can hear the noises echoing off the metal inside. There is a loud snap and a pop and what she hears next is somehow worse. It’s a slurping noise and she doesn’t want to picture what’s being eaten in there. There is cold sweat running down the back of her neck and she lifts an arm to wipe it off her forehead. Her heart is thundering in her chest and a part of her is surprised that the freak can’t hear it echoing over the desert it’s so loud. The blood is roaring in her ears now. Frankie turns around and looks her in the eye before he holds three fingers up. She nods and he curls his hand back into a fist before he looks at the back of the van. It is pitch black in there. It’s as black as hell and she’d terrified but she tightens her grip on her gun anyway. She glances back at Adrian and he’s both arms braced on the hood of the jeep now, his eye lowered to sight along the barrel and his finger tight on the trigger. She smiles at him and it is shaky and weak and then she glances in the vehicle. Nicky’s got his face pressed against the driver’s side mirror, his peashooter in one hand. CC sits behind him and he’s just watching calmly. Evan turns her attention back to Frankie and he’s still watching the back of the van. He holds his hand out and she sees him hold up one finger, then the second one, and then the third one. When that’s done his hand shoots out and grips the door handle, yanking it open and letting light into the van. Evan shoots as soon as the door’s open and she hears Frankie’s gun going off at the same time. There’s a freak in there. As soon as she sees it the air freezes in her lungs and the roaring in her ears intensifies because it is awful. They’re not all the same. It’s a mistake to think that they are. Some of them still look mostly like people, just a little deader and a little darker. Most of them are barely recognizable as men anymore and this is one of them. It’s crouched over a dead man and the remains of his intestines are dangling from its mouth like spaghetti. Long blades have been physically sewn into its forearms and its fingers are jagged and gnarled like the bones have been broken and reset a thousand times. It’s easy to forget that it used to be a person. Even with the mask hanging bloody around its neck and its goggles still on its forehead there’s barely anything recognizable as human anymore. Its eyes are black and empty pits sitting in sunken and dark sockets. There is blood smeared all over its mouth and its teeth are jagged and sharp and still gnawing on the man’s insides. She has only a second to take all this in. As soon as the door slams open and their guns start going off it’s moving, shoving away from its dinner and moving faster than it has any right to. It takes three bullets in the chest but it keeps charging. It slams hard into Frank because he’s the first one it sees. She hears her older brother shout as it knocks him to the ground and his boots kick at the dirt as he tries to get his gun up and pointed at its head. He doesn’t get that far. Evan’s still shooting and as soon as the freak feels one of her bullets puncture its flesh it launches itself off her older brother at her. She scrambles backwards and keeps shooting but it is so fucking fast that she only gets off one more shot before it’s on top of her. She has time to think that five or more bullets should have been enough to take this thing down and then she’s just thinking that oh God she’s not ready to die. It slams into her hard and she cries out when one of the blades hits the sand right next to her head. Its head is inches from hers, blood dripping from its teeth and onto her cheeks and there is terror making her blood run ice cold. She can smell its breath and it smells of death and decay and the end of the world and then it’s tilting its head like a snake and all she can see anymore are those black eyes boring into her. She kicks out in a blind panic but its already pulling back the other blade and she knows she’s about to die. The blast from Adrian’s gun is loud over the sand and she can feel warm blood splattering down on top of her. The bullet catches it in the temple and the force of the blast knocks it into the dirt next to her. It is dead in a second, its corpse slumping on top of her and she knows its blood is on her cheeks but not in her eyes or her mouth because she’s got a mask and goggles to protect her. “Jesus Evan, are you okay?” Adrian calls. His voice is scared and worried and she can hear him start to move across the sand. She can’t look at him. She’s just staring up at the sky and it is blue and cloudless and she misses the rain. Frank’s by her side in the next second and he kicks the freak brutally off of her. “Did it break skin?” he demands shortly. She blinks and tries to focus on his face and he looks almost pissed. He’s got his gun in one hand and he’s wiping the blood off his forehead with his sleeve. When she doesn’t answer right away he curses and crouches next to her. He grips her jaw in his hand and he’s tilting her head from side to side before he grabs her arm and starts to pull her into a sitting position. Then Adrian’s shadow falls over her and that’s enough to get her to move. “No,” she tells Frank. “I don’t think so.” She shoves him away from her and takes Adrian’s hand instead, letting him pull her to her feet. Her hands are quick and steady as she pats herself down but the only pain she feels is from a few bruises. It doesn’t feel like she’s been slit open or infected. She wipes the blood off her cheeks but she doesn’t think there’s any else on her. It’s staining her clothes but clothes can be burned later on. He snorts and then he shoves her gun against her chest. She doesn’t remember dropping it but she takes it from him and reloads it with hands that still are still steady even though she’s not sure how. “Good,” he says. “Adrian, get your ass back by the jeep.” Adrian’s hand rests on her shoulder and gives it a comforting squeeze. She tries to smile at him but she knows it’s a lie and so does he. He pretends like he believes it and smiles back and then Frank’s reaching to grab him by the back of the neck and shoves him towards the vehicle. Adrian stumbles a little on the dirt and he shoots a glare over his shoulder. “Asshole,” he spits into the dust. Frank snorts and cocks his gun. “You want Nicky and Carl getting eaten by freaks because you were babysitting your sister?” Evan’s eyes narrow at the words but it helps clear some of the panic fogging up her head. She doesn’t need anyone to fucking babysit her, not even Adrian. “Just get your eye to that rifle and if anything starts climbing out of that van you shoot it in the fucking head.” Frankie points his finger at Adrian when he says the words and he waits until he gets back to the jeep and his gun in place before he heads to the last van. Evan follows him and she ignores that her fingers are slick with blood as she wraps them around her gun. He slows down as he reaches the van. He puts one foot cautiously on the tire and uses that to push himself on top of the vehicle. She’s surprised he doesn’t slip in all the blood covering it but he keeps his balance as he peers down inside the van. Evan walks up next to him, her gun pointed at the waiting darkness. Frankie tilts his head as he looks inside and then he uses one foot to push the doors open wider. They creak and squeal as he slides the metal door aside and the whole time he never takes his hand off his gun. The light shines down into the van and Evan sucks in a breath when she sees what’s been left. There’s a woman. She thinks she’s dead at first because she should be. Her fingers are bony stumps and there’s blood all over her and all over her hands. Her lower half is shredded. She’s got nothing from the knees down and what’s above it has been chewed away and devoured or just ripped to pieces. There are bites all over her chest and chunks of her are missing. That’s nothing compared to her face. Her eyes are gone, long bloody lines down her cheeks from where she clawed her own eyes out. Then she sucks in a breath and Evan isn’t proud of the noise that comes out of her mouth at that. She turns her head towards Frankie like she can still see him and she only asks him one thing. “Kill me.” Wenston Frankie shoots whatever is in the van and from where he sits, CC can’t see what it is. He can see Frankie’s face and its cold and passive. He can see Evan as she lowers her gun and takes a few steps away from the van, the back of her hand held to her mouth. His eyes go to the body of the freak that had jumped out at Frankie and Evan. He’s seen freaks before. He’s seen them alive and he’s seen them dead, but he’s never seen them roaming free or attacking people. He finds it curious. “I bet you’re scared to go out there,” Nicky says. CC turns to look at him and he’s grinning, but his face is pale and CC sees more semblances of fear than happiness in his features. CC tips his head to the side. “I do not think I am afraid,” he says. “But logic dictates I should be.” Nicky makes a face at him and then looks back out of the jeep. CC follows his gaze and the others are starting to relax. Evan has turned her back to the van and is trying to wipe the blood off her hands and onto her clothes. Adrian lowers his rifle and walks over to her. CC supposes that means the danger has passed. Apparently so does Nicky, because he climbs out of the jeep and starts walking towards Evan and Adrian. CC stays put and he is watching Frankie. The man is still staring inside the van. He crosses himself and his eyes don’t stray from whatever is inside until he hears Adrian say something to Nicky. “I thought I told you to stay put,” Frankie snarls. CC can’t hear Nicky’s response and Frankie marches over to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the van. Evan turns to watch and she spits out, “Fuck, Frankie, don’t show him that.” Frankie either doesn’t hear her or more likely doesn’t care. He pulls his youngest brother to the van and makes Nicky look inside it. CC can see Nicky’s face visibly pale and both of his hands come up to cover his mouth. Frankie points inside the van, but his eyes are on his brother. “I tell you to stay put, you fucking stay put or that’s what you’re gonna look like, you hear me?” Frankie is snarling and CC doesn’t understand why he is suddenly so angry. Nicky turns and suddenly he is retching into the sand, his hands braced on his knees and bent at the waist. Frankie legs go of his arm and starts marching across the sand towards the jeep. Evan goes over to Nicky and holds his shoulders, giving Frankie a glare but she doesn’t say anything. Adrian is standing by himself, hand rubbing up and down his arm like he’s cold. Frankie rips the jeep door open and he’s not saying anything, but he grabs CC’s forearm and tugs him out of the jeep. CC stumbles on the sand as Frankie drags him over towards the others. “Frankie,” Adrian says, but the eldest brother doesn’t answer. The others seem to be nervous and CC isn’t sure what is happening. Pulling CC up to the opening of the van, Frankie points into the vehicle the same way he had for Nicky. CC sees the corpse hanging there and he is fairly certain it was a painful death. “What do you think God has to say about that?” he demands, his face cold. CC glances at him and then back at the corpse. “I am not familiar with God’s thought processes and I can not speculate on what…” He doesn’t have time to finish. Frankie grabs the back of his neck and shoves him into the van. CC stumbles and slips on the blood, but Frankie pushes him over to the corpse so they are standing in front of it and he snarls again, “Then what the fuck do you have to say about that? What the fuck do you see when you look at something like this?” “I am unsure if I understand your inquiry,” CC says and frowns when Frankie shakes him and shoves his head right up next to the dead woman’s. “Say something!” Frankie screams and shakes him again, his face turning red as he screams in CC’s ear. “Fucking say something!” From outside the van, Evan yells, “Jesus Christ, Frankie, what the fuck do you want him to say?” Frankie doesn’t answer, not with words. He shoves CC against the wall of the van and CC slips on the blood pooled on the ground. He falls to a sitting position and Frankie climbs out of the van before CC even hits the ground. He looks towards Frankie’s retreating back and he’s unsure as to what the man was asking of him. Frankie shoves past the others. Adrian and Evan and frowning at him and Nicky is clinging tightly to Evan’s arm. Frankie stalks back towards the jeep, ignoring them all. CC glances back to the corpse and tries to think what Frankie would want him to say about it. He pulls himself back to his feet and steps out of the van. The others glance at him and he turns to seek out Frankie, who is standing near the jeep and checking the bullets in his gun. CC tilts his head to the side and says, “Perhaps God chooses not to say anything.” Frankie’s head snaps back up to look at him, the frown still marring his features. He’s studying CC intently and then just as quickly as the anger had come, it’s gone. He lets out a laugh and points at CC. “You might be on to something, Carl.” Then he walks to the driver’s door of the jeep and waves them all towards him, “We’re leaving,” he says before he climbs in and slams the door shut. “I thought it was okay to come out,” Nicky says quietly. CC turns to look at him and he is looking down at his shoes. Adrian reaches over to ruffle his hair. “He’s just being Frankie,” he says with false optimism in his voice. “Let’s get out of here.” They start heading back to the jeep and CC turns to look at Evan. She is watching the van for a moment but then turns to follow, pausing when she sees CC is watching her. “What are you looking at?” she demands and then shoves pass him. CC follows her, glancing back over his shoulder to look at the three vehicles. “I do not understand what triggered his outburst of aggression,” he says. Evan doesn’t stop walking, but looks over her shoulder at him. She snorts and shakes her head. “Welcome to our world,” she says and CC finds that a strange answer. He frowns and wonders if she’s welcoming him more to their society, or if she actually means their world. He is finding the sand much different than the city. It is less organized and extremely confusing. They climb into the jeep and this time Nicky is sitting in the middle. Adrian sits in the backseat and Evan takes the front. They are quiet as Frankie starts up the jeep and pulls away from the three vehicles. CC wonders if it is normal for them to leave without taking stuff with them. His thoughts are interrupted when his stomach abruptly grumbles. He looks to Frankie in the rearview mirror and the man has reacquired his amused smirk. “It has been 32 hours since my last meal,” he announces. Frankie’s eyes meet his and he quirks a brow, starting to laugh. Nicky turns to look at him, a look of disgust on his face. “There is something wrong with you.” .Wolfie. They don’t pull over until the ground gets a little bit higher and a little bit rockier. Evan doesn’t say anything the whole time. She doesn’t argue because the farther they get away from the freaks and the corpses the easier it is to breathe. The smell is clouding up the jeep and she keeps her mask on, even though it doesn’t do much to hide the stench. It’s on her clothes and her hands and her cheeks and she misses the rain. She misses taking regular showers and she misses her old life because there weren’t any freaks in it. “God’s a bastard,” Frankie says as they pull over. He doesn’t get out right away. He twists in his seat so that he can look in the back seat and Evan glances that way for only a heartbeat. Adrian’s got his head leaned against the window and his eyes closed and Nicky’s echoing his position on the other side. CC’s the only one looking at her brother and he’s got that same calm, attentive look on his face. She wonders if he understands just how close he came to dying, just because Frankie got in a mood. She can’t explain it to him because he doesn’t make sense to her half the time. “You ever read the old testament, Carl?” Frankie asks, pointing a finger at him. “I do not believe so,” CC answers him. “Though I am familiar with some of its teachings.” Frank snorts and then he grins. “Well, we’re going to change that, son,” he says. He leans across Evan to pop open the glove box and she shoves at his shoulder when he thinks it’s funny to put an elbow in her gut. He shoots her a smile but she doesn’t return it, turning her head to look back out the window. It stinks in here. That’s all she can think about. He pulls the bible out of the glove box and then he twists and hands it back to CC. “You read that, you’ll see what I mean. Asshole razes whole fucking cities because he thinks they’re too sinful. Hell, maybe that’s why we’re living in a desert.” He laughs loudly at that but Evan doesn’t think it’s very funny. She can’t listen to this anymore and she can’t sit in here and smell the dead still on her clothes. She kicks the door open without a word and slams it loudly behind her. The sand swirls beneath her feet as she stomps to the back of the jeep and she can still hear Frankie talking from inside when she yanks the canvas loose and tosses it on top of the metal roof. “God’s a bastard so that’s the only thing he respects,” he says. Adrian sighs and kicks the door open after that. Evan doesn’t look at him. She turns her back on him and the jeep as she strips her shirt off and tosses it onto the dust. She can hear Frankie laughing from inside and she doesn’t understand him. She doesn’t understand why he is laughing now when half an hour ago he was shoving his brother’s face into that of a dead woman’s. She doesn’t understand what he expects from any of them. She kicks her boots off and her pants follow. She holds them up in front of her and then she lights them on fire. She makes sure they’re burning strong before she tosses them on top of her shirt and then she starts digging in her bag for clothes that’ll pass for clean. “Are you okay?” Adrian asks her. He’s leaning against the side of the jeep and he’s watching her face carefully. Inside Frankie’s decided he wants to read to his new pet before he actually gets him some food and she can hear his voice echoing off the windows. Nicky stays where he’s at and she thinks it’s more because he’s scared of his brother than because he actually wants to listen to him preach. Her fingers slip buttoning her pants because she can still smell the freak’s breath on her face and see those black eyes boring into hers and all she can think about is Frankie telling her that anything killed by one of those is going straight to Hell. “I’m fucking fine,” she snaps. She doesn’t look up at him as she grabs a water bottle out of their color and she doesn’t care if water’s a precious commodity out here. She pours it over her face and uses one of Frankie’s shirts to try and get the blood and the grime off of her face and her hands. It comes away red and black and she tosses it on the already burning pile of clothes. She can still smell it. It’s making her sick but she ignores it because there’s no time for fear or hesitation out here and maybe that’s why Frankie’s mad. She pulls a clean shirt over her head and when she’s done she grabs the metal tin off the top of her things and gets herself a cigar. She cuts the end off and lights it and when that’s done she starts strapping all her guns and her knife back on. “You’re such a fucking liar.” Adrian snorts and then he pulls himself up onto the back of the jeep. His movements are getting a little shaky and she glances at his face. He’s trying to smile but it’s shaky and he’s too pale. All except for the black mark on his chest and when she looks down at his hands she can see the edges of it trying to make itself known from beneath his shirt as it spreads. She hears the doors slam and she glances up as Frankie gets out of the jeep first, Nicky and CC following shortly behind. Her chest feels tight as her eldest brother comes around the back. He pauses when he sees the pile of smoldering clothes on the ground and he glances up at her face. He reaches up to tug on it and it’s still damp and dripping onto the sand below. He snorts and he shakes his head, moving past her to get to the food supplies. “Thanks for wasting our water,” he tells her dryly. “Fuck you,” Evan says. She spits the word out onto the ground and there’s no smile on her face to soften the words any, not like she thinks he cares. She sucks in the smoke from her cigar but it doesn’t ease the tightness in her chest any. Frankie laughs and shakes his head. “Alright Carl, you ever had an MRE? I’ll even give you a choice, chicken or pork?” “Hey,” Nicky whines. “I wanted the chicken.” He crosses his arms over his chest and he still looks a little pale and a little shaky. Even his bitching is toned down and she thinks she hates Frankie for shoving that in his face. He didn’t need to see that shit. No one does. Even she doesn’t need to see it and she’s older and been through more and she still feels sick and weak. “They both contain similar nutritional value,” CC says. His tone of voice never changes and his expression never changes and Evan snorts and puffs smoke out the corner of her lips. “Either would be acceptable.” “Pork it is,” Frankie says. He grins and tosses it to the man and he catches it lightly in his hands, turning it over and inspecting the gray packet before he rips it open. Nicky fumbles and drops the one thrown in his direction and he mutters curses under his breath as he picks it up, walking a few feet away to slump down in the sand and eat by himself. Frank jumps up on the tailgate next to Adrian and he grabs himself an MRE before he points a finger at CC. Her twin is still watching her but she turns away to stare out over the desert. “See, you’re lucky God dropped you in my hands. Not everyone would feed you.” He laughs afterwards and so does Evan. “Lucky,” she drawls. She shakes her head, putting the cigar between her lips and sucking the smoke down into her lungs. She’s starting to tremble just holding it and she’s trying not to think about it but her mind just keeps going back to those black eyes. A part of her wonders if that’s what her brother’s going to look like. “You call this lucky? You think God has anything to do with it?” She glances back at Frankie. He’s eating something that resembles spaghetti and meatballs and it just makes her stomach churn because it looks like intestines. “You getting pissy ‘cause a freak jumped you, or is it just that time of the month?” “I’m pissy because you decided to throw a little bitch fit,” she snaps. Nicky glances over his shoulder at that and she sees the smile start to slip off Frank’s lips. Adrian shifts slightly on the tailgate but he’s just watching Evan with concern in his eyes and she’s thinking about Frankie yelling at him not to babysit her. CC stands next to the jeep and he’s just watching them both like he’s seeing a social experiment going on under his eyes. Then Frankie smirks and rests his elbows on his knees. “Then why don’t you tell me what you think God would say about it, Evangeline.” Something snaps in her at that and she points the cigar at her brother’s face. “There is no God,” she snarls at him. “There’s no God and there’s no heaven and there’s no St. Peter and the pearly gates. If there ever was then he’s fucking dead now and the only thing you’re going to find up there is the same shit you find down here; a wasteland. That’s what I fucking think, Francis.” He watches her for a second and she hates that he’s got the same look on his face that CC does. He’s just studying her and trying to figure her out. “There’s a God,” he tells her. “Maybe he’s abandoned us, but that’s why we’re going to find our way home.” He smiles after he says it and it’s the ending to every other argument and normally that’s when she rolls her eyes and storms off to smoke by herself for a while but today she just can’t. She can still feel the freak’s blood on her and it somehow got under her brother’s skin and now it’s taking over his body a piece at a time. “You know Frankie,” she says. “I don’t see how you can believe in a God that would send our brother to hell.” She spits on the ground after she says that and then she puts out the last of the fire on the ground with her boot. She grinds it down until it’s just ash and then she kicks it into the sand and watches the wind start to blow it away. “You mean because of his sickness,” CC says. It startles her because she doesn’t expect anything that comes out of his mouth and she especially doesn’t expect it now. She glances over her shoulder and he’s watching her. As soon as she looks at him he looks away and focuses on Frankie and he’s staring at her too. It’s Adrian that finally nods his head and CC echoes the motion like he expected that. “I do not know if there’s a God,” he says. “But I was under the impression that I was a saving grace.” Evan’s eyes widen slightly and for a minute she doesn’t know what to say to him. The desert is quiet and still until it’s broken by Nicky taking another bite of his dinner and then Frankie bursts out laughing. “Classic,” he says. “That’s exactly what you are, Carl.” Evan’s still watching him and finally she just bites down on the cigar. “Fuck you both,” she finally says. Wenston “I would question the accuracy of this book in its account of the creation of the world,” CC says. He looks up to meet Frankie’s eyes in the rearview mirror and the man is smiling. Evan sits beside him and she is being very quiet. CC can’t tell if she’s angry yet or if she is just thoughtful. He thinks it is the latter. She has been quiet since they climbed back in the jeep. Beside CC, Adrian stirs and looks over at him. He smirks and chuckles a little before leaning back in his chair. Nicky is still quiet on the other side of him and CC wonders if playing the man’s game again would cheer him up. Frankie snorts and looks back out to the desert ahead of them before his eyes come back to CC. “You’re a Darwinist, aren’t you?” CC frowns and says, “If you are referring to Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, and by calling me a Darwinist, are alluding to my knowledge and acceptance of said theory, then yes.” Frankie snorts and shakes his head. CC frowns and closes the book he was given, leaning forward a little. “There is irrefutable evidence that supports the theory. He wrote a very convincing work entitled On the Origin of Species that details his accounts of observation on the natural selection of finches. It would…” “Look, it’s great and all you think we came from a little fucking speck in the middle of the ocean,” Frankie says and waves his hand in front of his face. Beside him, Evan sighs and runs her hand over her face. “But who the fuck do you think put that speck there? God, that’s who.” CC shakes his head. “You are basing your hypothesis on speculation,” he informs him. “I don’t give a flying fuck what I’m basing my hypothesis on,” Frankie tells him solidly. “You go back as far as you want. You go back to the big fucking bang for all I care, at one point, someone had to start it all and that someone is God.” Adrian sighs and then laughs a little. He lifts his head to look at CC. “You’re not going to win, CC,” he says. “Everything is God’s will with Frankie. Always has been, always will be.” In front of him, Frankie snorts like he finds that funny. CC doesn’t understand. “If everything must have a starting point and must be created, then who created God?” CC asks. Frankie scoffs and opens his mouth as if he’s going to answer, but CC cuts him off and says, “It was my impression that man created God. So by your logic, you have forced yourself into a cycle of creationism with no starting nor ending point.” Frankie is quiet for a moment with his eyes narrowed. Evan lifts her head to look at her brother and the silence seems awkward and unnatural coming from him. The others must think so too, as Adrian leans a little to try and look at his brother’s face. Frankie clucks his tongue and then points at CC in the rearview mirror. “You know what? You’re alright, Carl. Weird as fuck, but you’re alright.” CC frowns. “I do not see how that is related to the topic of our discussion.” Adrian laughs and reaches over to pat CC’s arm. “He’s saying the discussion’s over, CC,” he says. CC glances at the other man as he withdraws his hand and starts to cough. He rubs a hand over his chest and then leans back against the seat, his breathing labored as he looks up at the ceiling of the jeep. CC glances up there too but see nothing and then turns his head to look at Nicky, who is bent forward with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting in his hands. “I have come to a conclusion over your earlier inquiry,” CC tells him. Nicky frowns and tips his head to look at him. When he realizes CC is talking to him, he sits up and sneers at him. “What are you talking about? I didn’t ask you anything, moron.” CC nods. “You did. You inquired as to which death I would find more preferable, freezing or burning. I have come to the conclusion that should the choice ever be required of me, I would choose freezing.” Nicky blinks at him and then snorts a laugh. It seems to melt away whatever sadness or fear he’d had lingering around him. “Why’s that? Are you afraid of fire? Like Frankenstien? You know, you two are kinda the same,” Nicky says, leaning back and the cocky grin is back in his face. CC shakes his head. “No, I do not fear fire. The human body can sustain any degree of burn and remain conscious and functional for a greater period of time. It would be quite painful. However, if you were to freeze to death, the pain would be quicker and once the temperature was low enough, the brain would stop functioning and you would not feel pain at all. It is a less painful, more peaceful way to go.” Nicky snorts. Evan kicks her feet up in the front seat and Adrian has a smile on his lips and his eyes closed. CC looks at all of them and whatever tension had been in the jeep seemed to be slowly starting to fade away. Nicky leans back and pulls out his small gun, twirling it again. “I bet I could last longer than you,” he says to CC. “That bet is illogical. Your body mass would dictate you succumb to the effects of hypothermia far sooner than I would,” CC tells him. Nicky narrows his eyes and points the gun at CC’s head. “It’s not about logic, moron. I’m tougher than you are.” Evan snorts. “Tougher, huh?” she asks from the front seat. Nicky turns to look at her as she looks over her shoulder at him. “We could probably test that.” Nicky puffs up his chest and points at all of them one by one. “I could take him in a fight any day,” he says. “He’s just a moron Frankenstein. I bet he doesn’t even fight back. I bet he just stands there and takes it.” “That might make him the tougher man,” Adrian says quietly and they all turn to look at him. He has his head leaned against the window and his eyes are closed. He doesn’t open them when he feels them all look at him and CC wonders what everyone’s definition of toughness is. He would ask them to define it, but they’ve stopped answering him when he asks questions like that, so he refrains. He wonders if Adrian is sympathizing with some aspect of this scenario and he doesn’t know enough about the man or have anything to compare his current condition to, so he doesn’t know. Nicky scoffs. “Whatever, I’d still kick his ass,” he says. CC looks between all of them and then looks out the window. He sees the desert spanning out in front of them for as far as he can see. As if she were thinking the same thing, Evan draws the GPS out of the glovebox and flicks it on. Frankie leans over to look at it and she tips it so he can see. He adjusts the steering wheel a little and they put the GPS away again. “Hopes is on the horizon, boys and girls,” Frankie announces. CC doesn’t think he understands. The horizon is empty. .Wolfie. “Would you rather go deaf or blind?” Nicky asks. He must be feeling better because he’s sitting in the backseat playing with his gun and he’s asking CC a bunch of stupid questions again. Evan rolls her eyes and shifts a little lower in her seat. Outside the window the desert keeps on rolling by. She keeps flicking the GPS on to check their destination and it looks like it should be right over the next bend. She doesn’t see anything that looks like the city. She doesn’t see any paved roads or streetlights guiding the way home.“While both would be a significant handicap I believe I would rather be deaf than blind. The loss of eyesight would be more of a hindrance, particularly in an environment such as this,” CC answers him with the same calm tone of voice that he answers everything with and right now it’s getting under Evan’s skin. It’s not human to have so little emotion about everything and everyone. “I’d rather be blind,” Adrian says quietly. “See no evil, right?” He laughs at himself, his head braced on one hand as he stares out the window. He coughs and it’s ragged and harsh as it tears its way up out of his chest. “Don’t matter to me either way,” Frankie says. He’s got a smirk on his face as he forces the jeep over the dunes and nothing she or CC or anybody else says touches his faith even a little bit. He’s already a blind dog and it pisses her off but he’s not going to change. “And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do to them, and not forsake them.” He grins and then he glances over at his sister. “What about you Evan? You rather be deaf or blind?” She rolls her head to the side to glare at him but Nicky’s grinning in the back seat so she sighs. “One of each,” she says. Frankie laughs at that and nods his head, his eyes back on the desert. There are rocks kicking up underneath them and on the horizon she can see something starting to glitter in the sun. She wonders if that’s the city but she’s scared to hope for it. Nicky makes a face and then he kicks his feet up on the back of Frankie’s seat. The dirt on his boots flakes off onto the floor below and joins the rest of it already on the carpet. “That’s cheating,” he says. “You have to pick one or the other.” “Oh yeah?” she asks, tipping her head back against the seat. Nicky crosses his arms over his chest but he looks less pale and shaken now. He’s giving her that petulant, kid brother look that she’s used to. “I don’t remember you laying down any ground rules.” CC’s watching her and then he tips his head to the side. He has an interesting look on his face but it’s not a smile because he never smiles or blinks or frowns. “I find it curious how each of your answers reflects your personality in some manner,” he says. Frankie laughs at that and Evan frowns because she’s not sure exactly what her answer says about her. She doesn’t ask. “You’re a moron,” Nicky says. He shoves CC roughly away from him with a hand on his shoulder and the man bumps into Adrian’s side. Her brother glances at him but he doesn’t let it bother him and neither does CC. Evan stops watching them and turns her attention out the window and she can still smell blood in the jeep and on her skin. She tried to wash it off but it’s lingering and she knows she doesn’t have time to let it matter. She doesn’t need babysitting and even if she did there’s no time for it out here. She’s got one little brother and one sick brother and Frankie’s not a compassionate man so she can’t depend on him to care for either of them. She misses Adrian. It’s stupid because he’s sitting right behind her but she misses how he used to be and she knows it’s not his fault but it doesn’t stop the feeling. He’s still got her back and he proved that but she’s scared he won’t always be there. After a while the town comes into view and she tries not to let her heart sink because it’s not the city. It’s just another town in the middle of the desert and it’s one of the nicer ones but it’s still not home. She flicks the GPS on and the blue dot blinks as they get closer and then a second one goes off at the top of the screen. She sighs and turns the thing off, resting her head against the back of the seat. “It’s a checkpoint,” she says, rolling her head to look out the window. “It’s guiding us checkpoint by checkpoint.” “That would make sense,” CC says from behind her. She glances back and he’s looking out the front window. Frankie shoots a look in the rearview mirror and she can’t tell if he’s annoyed by this or not. “Considering the environment the van would have to pass through and the distance between cities it seems only logical that there would be many stops along the way.” Frankie snorts. “Well, this puts us in an interesting situation now, doesn’t it?” he says. He grins and then pulls the jeep over. “Why are we stopping?” Nicky asks. He drops his feet to the floor and leans forward because he hasn’t’ been paying attention and he’s just seeing the town now. He grins brightly when he sees it. “Shit,” he says. “Does this mean real food tonight?” Frankie ignores him. He shifts in his seat, turning so that he’s looking back at CC and the man meets his gaze squarely. He doesn’t even flinch when Evan’s eldest brother pulls his gun out and points it back at his head. “Here’s the thing Carl. We’re about to head into town and I can’t very well leave you here with the jeep and all our guns, can I? I mean, I guess I could leave you here with Nicky but you try and take off all he’s going to do is whine and cry about it and let you go.” “Hey!” Nicky says. He glares at his brother and kicks the back of his seat in irritation. He pulls his peashooter out and waves it in CC’s face. “I could take him easy. He’s just a moron Frankenstein. Come on, you can trust me Frankie.” He whines and shoves CC in the shoulder like it’s somehow his fault and Frankie just laughs at him, reaching back to ruffle his hair before he looks back at CC. “Now, I could leave Adrian, but fuck, he might kick it any day now and what’s to stop you from taking off then?” He clucks his tongue and shakes his head and now Evan’s the one glaring at him. She thinks she hates her brother and she flips him off. “Thanks a lot Frank,” Adrian says. He smirks and rolls his head to the side. “Tell me how you really feel.” He grins but he doesn’t even glance at Adrian. He never takes his eyes off CC. “I’m not going to leave Evan here with you because when we hit this town, the plan is to do some very bad things. I’m going to need a gun to back me up and she’s pretty much all I’m left with. So that brings me to the crux of our dilemma here.” Frankie waves the gun at CC and the man nods his head. “You are afraid that I will attempt to run should you bring me with you into town,” CC says. “And while I am not familiar with societal life out here, if there is any form of law enforcement out here then you are likely afraid I will draw attention to you.” Frankie grins and clucks his tongue at CC. “Bingo, Carl. That is exactly the problem we have here. Now, since I’d rather have you run then run away with my jeep, I’m thinking I’ll bring you with us. But now listen to me closely on this part.” He cocks the gun and he points it at CC’s head. “These are the rules. You try to run, I’ll shoot you. You try to get the attention of the sheriff, I’ll shoot you. You get in our way or slow us down, and I’ll shoot you.” He grins at CC cheerfully, waving the gun in his face. “You take one fucking step out of line and guess what?” “You’ll shoot me,” CC says. He says it calmly and without emotion and Evan snorts because she thinks one of these times Frankie might shoot him just to see if it’ll get any kind of reaction out of him. She doesn’t think it will and it annoys her. It annoys her more right now because she got thumped by a freak and she can’t shake the unease it left with her. She can’t shake the smell of it or the sight of those dark eyes and it’s pissing her off. She rubs a hand over her mouth and looks back out the window. Frankie laughs and ruffles the man’s hair. He seems surprised at the motion. “You catch on fast, don’t you Carl?” he asks. “Yes,” he agrees. “My learning capabilities are higher than the average person due mostly to my eidetic memory. Therefore it is easier for me to recall sounds and images once I have experienced them once while most people’s memories begin to fade over time.” CC tells him. Frankie frowns and he doesn’t pull the gun out of the man’s stomach. “A photographic memory,” CC explains. Nicky snorts and he shoves CC again. “If your memory is so fucking good then why can’t you remember your name, moron?” He snickers afterwards like he’s gotten one over on the man. Frankie grins and twirls the gun in his hand. CC looks at Evan’s kid brother with a blank expression on his face. “I imagine it is an aftereffect of something that the scientists had done to me though I cannot recall any specific experiment that might have resulted in such a memory loss. It is entirely possible that it was something they have done on purpose or a psychological effect in response to some form of trauma. It is impossible to say since I cannot recall anything before the experiments began.” He says it all calmly and there’s a moment of silence after he does. “I thought they were just testing your immunity to the freak disease,” Adrian says. He’s frowning as he looks at the man and he looks more disturbed by his answer than CC is. Evan wonders again why her brother cares so much and she wonders if even he would have an answer for her if she asked. “Why do all that other shit to you?” “My immunity was discovered purely by accident,” CC responds. “I was already used as a test subject when they decided to expose me to the genetic abnormality that you are currently suffering from and they discovered my resistance to it.” Evan frowns and suddenly she feels uneasy because this is exactly the kind of shit dad was fighting against and abruptly she finds herself looking at a man instead of a science experiment. She wonders if he was part of the Resistance. She wonders if that’s why they made him an experiment or if he’s just an unlucky bastard. “Why would they do that to you? What were they looking for?” Adrian asks. He says it quietly but it’s the question they’re all suddenly thinking. CC just shakes his head and looks out the window. “I don’t know,” he says, and the silence afterwards is deafening. Wenston Frankie is straightening Nicky’s jacket as they stand outside the jeep. Near the back, Adrian and Evan load their guns and stash more beneath the jackets or strapped to their ankles. CC stands quietly between all of them and simply observes. He doesn’t expect to get a gun or any sort of weapon and he doesn’t want to take a step out of line.. He’d prefer not to get shot and has no doubt Frankie will follow through in his threat. “Stick close to Adrian and don’t draw your gun unless you absolutely have to,” Frankie is telling Nicky. The younger man sighs and rolls his eyes, like he’s heard this a thousand times before. “Because if you draw your gun…” Nicky swats Frankie’s hands away and growls, “It gives them reason to draw theirs. I know, alright? Let’s just get down there already.” Frankie laughs and reaches out to ruffle the younger man’s hair. Nicky seems irritated by the motion, but Frankie doesn’t seem to care. He walks pass Nicky to go pull down the tarp on the back of the jeep and snap it into place. He glances at Evan and Adrian, taking note of their guns before his eyes finally come to rest on CC. “Carl,” he says with a grin and walks on over. He slings an arm around CC’s shoulders and they start walking down towards the town. “You just stick close to me, do as I say, and maybe you’ll live through the day, huh?” “I find your doubt and suspicion of my capability to follow orders interesting,” CC tells him. Behind them, Evan snorts. “We just don’t trust you, science experiment,” she says. “Because you’re a Frankenstein,” Nicky adds helpfully. CC nods and he understands that they don’t trust him. He is familiar with the concept of trust. He supposes it is not uncommon to implicitly mistrust strangers. But CC has determined that there are certain things Frankie says he can trust. The threats on his life are something he trusts. He trusts Frankie’s views on God and the pearly gates are what he actually believes. He trusts Nicky’s threats are nothing but idle talk for a weak personality. He trusts Adrian to tell him the truth. And he trusts Evan does not like him and may never. Frankie removes his arm from CC’s shoulders as they approach the town. It is a small town. It seems there is a main street, unpaved, in the center of the town. There are houses, small shops and community buildings on either side of the street. Behind those are more houses that look cheaper in make and model than the ones along the main street. At the very far end of the town is a large building and CC can recognize the logo above the door. It is a city logo. There is no fence or barricade around the town, but CC notes there are several guard posts around. As they walk into the town, Frankie leans into a guard post that looks as though it were empty and snorts. He pulls CC over and CC frowns because the guard is asleep. He wonders if he should point out to the proprietor of this town that a barricade of some sort would probably be most efficient in keeping them safe. “Too fucking easy,” Frankie says. “This town is asking to be robbed.” “Or attacked by freaks,” Adrian mutters as he looks around, a disgusted look on his face. Frankie laughs. “Maybe you can come back here when you turn into one.” He is the only one laughing. “Fuck you, Frankie,” Evan spits angrily. CC glances back at them and Adrian just sighs and shakes his head, but Evan looks genuinely angry. There is loathing in her eyes as she glares at her eldest brother. CC says, “You have a very strong sense of protectiveness for your siblings, even from each other. I find it interesting in your family dynamic, you have taken on the motherly role.” Evan’s glare moves to him as Adrian chuckles and Frankie outright laughs. Frankie reaches over and claps CC on the shoulder. “I’m certain, Carl. You’ve never been laid in your life.” “I do not understand how you can ascertain that presumption from my observation,” CC tells him. Frankie pauses in front of a building, squinting up at the swinging sign above the door before he grins and looks at CC. “I’m just that smart,” he says and then turns to walk up the steps and into the store. CC and the others follow. As soon as they are inside, it is much nicer than the blistering heat of the desert. An industrial sized fan is blowing in the corner, but that seems to be the most modern technology this store possesses. Otherwise, it is just filled with food, clothing, and an assortment of other accessories. “Stay here, Carl,” Frankie says. He turns and looks at Evan, nodding his head towards the door. She nods back and goes to stand in front of the door, glancing it out like she is watching for people to come in. Adrian and Nicky go to start looking through the shelves. Nicky is intent on the items he can choose from, but Adrian is keeping his eye on Frankie as he makes his way towards the counter. A man stands behind the counter. He is plump and red in the face and CC thinks by the look of him his blood pressure and cholesterol are too high. When the man sees Frankie, he stands up a little straighter and CC frowns when he sees something flicker across the man’s face when he gets a good look at Frankie. It almost looked like recognition. Looking around the store, CC takes in the structural make of this building. It is different than the buildings in the city or the labs. He looks around until his eyes fall on the far wall. There are posters tacked to a board there and CC takes one look at them before he turns his attention to Evan. “I believe…” he starts. “Shut up,” Evan snaps, her eyes watching Frankie intently. CC frowns. “There are drawings of your family on the wall,” he says because he feels it is important for her to know that. Evan’s eyes widen and she turns to look at the posters. It takes her just a second to understand what they are before she’s turning and heading up the aisle. “Fuck, Frankie, wait,” she yells, her hands going for her guns tucked into her pants. She doesn’t have time to draw them and Frankie doesn’t have time to react. The man behind the counter pulls a shotgun up from a hidden place there and points it at Frankie’s face. Adrian curses and shoves Nicky down so he is hidden behind the shelves and out of any line of fire. “You all just keep your hands right where I can see them or I blow this fella’s face off,” the plump man says. Frankie laughs but puts his hands up, his head tilted to the side. “You could try that,” he says, his voice low. “Are you could realize that you’re outnumbered and if you take a shot, you’ll be meeting St. Peter before your body hits the fucking ground.” The door behind CC opens and he steps to the side as a man points a gun in his face. A few other men enter the room, guns drawn and two of them move to Adrian and Nicky while the others start to surround Evan and Frankie. “Outnumbered?” one of them asks. “Just whose town do you think you’re in, Stark?” Frankie laughs, turning to look at the man speaking. “You know my name,” he says like he’s proud of it. “Francis James Stark,” the man nods his head. “Wanted for murder. Everyone here knows your name, asshole.” The accusation doesn’t wipe the smile of Frankie’s face. “Well it’s a start.” .Wolfie. There’s a gun pressed into the small of Evan’s back and another one pointed at her head. She doesn’t look right at them but she’s aware of where they are and in her mind she’s trying to figure out how fast she’d be able to get the guns off her and pointed back at the men holding them. She’s fast, but she doesn’t think she’s that fast and even if she was there are more men aiming weapons at Adrian and Nicky and CC and she knows for a fact she’s not quick enough to handle that problem before it becomes a fatal one.There’s a man pushing Frankie into the cell in front of them and if the gold star on his chest is any indication then he’s the sheriff of this town. He shoves Frankie up against the wall with an arm on the back of his neck and with his other hand he’s patting her eldest brother down for weapons. Every time he finds one he tosses it to the young kid standing behind him and he looks like he’s supposed to pass for the deputy but he doesn’t look much older than Nicky. He fumbles a little when the sheriff passes him Frankie’s monster of a handgun and his eyes widen slightly as he studies it. Evan thinks he’s about as bright as Nicky too. CC’s standing next to her and he’s looking as calm and passive as ever. He’s got guns pointed at his head too but he’s not blinking. He keeps his hands laced behind his head like they tell him to and he’s just watching them all with a curious look on his face. She keeps waiting for him to speak up and tell them he was kidnapped and she wonders what they’ll do to him after that. “You know,” Frankie drawls. “You want to get this friendly with me I think it’s only right you buy me dinner first.” He grins over his shoulder, his hands splayed and pressed against the brick wall. He doesn’t look concerned and Evan’s trying not to be either. “Don’t worry fella,” the man behind Evan says. “You’ll get your last supper, right before we hang all four of you in the town square.” Frankie laughs as the man pulls the last gun out of his boot and tosses it to the kid behind him. He’s the only one laughing and Evan hears Nicky make a noise in the back of his throat at that. She glances over at him and he’s got his fingers laced behind his head and a gun shoved against his stomach. He’s watching Frankie with wide eyes like he’s waiting for his big brother to fix this. “Trust me son,” Frankie says. “That ain’t gonna happen.” He sounds confident and unafraid and she notices the nervous glances the men in front of her shoot each other. The sheriff just snorts and then he moves Frankie over to the bars, pulling his wrists through and handcuffing him on the other side. While he does that his deputy goes and empties his arms onto a small wooden table by the door. The guns fall in a heavy pile on its surface and Evan smirks because they’ve already got a small arsenal going. The sheriff grabs Adrian next, pushing him against the wall in the same fashion and starting to pat him down. Adrian smiles and he tilts his head over his shoulder to look at Frankie. “Hey Frankie,” he says. “Looks like your new friend is cheating on you already.” Frankie laughs loudly and leans against the bars so he can turn and look at the sheriff. “Well ain’t you a fucking slut?” he says, waggling his eyebrows afterwards. Nicky laughs and it looks like it eases some of the fear in his eyes. Evan manages to crack a smile, right up until she hears Adrian’s quiet laughter turn into a ragged cough. Something black and thick splatters against the wall. The sheriff pauses at that, his arm pressed against the back of Adrian’s neck and his hand resting on his side. He looks over Adrian’s shoulder and his frown deepens as he sees what he just coughed up. His hand moves and tightens on Adrian’s neck and he finishes patting him down quickly, shoving guns and knives at the kid behind him. As soon as he’s done he grips Adrian’s arm and turns him around, grabbing the edge of his shirt and pulling it up to his chin. Adrian tries to stop him but all he gets is a gun shoved under his chin in response. There’s an audible gasp from every other man in this room as they all stare at the black on her brother’s chest. “Shit,” one of them says. “You’re one of them infected.” He motions his gun at the sheriff and starts to step forward, cocking his weapon and holding it up by his shoulder. “Damn Henry, we should just shoot his ass now before he turns into a fucking freak.” She sees the smile slip off Frankie’s face at that and a growl leaves Evan’s lips because that’s her brother they’re talking about. She starts to step forward, hand going towards her gun. A hand clamps down on the back of her neck, another gripping her forearm and the gun digging painfully into her spine. “Now you just wait your turn, girlie,” the man behind her says. “Fuck you,” she snarls, but she stills her hands. Her eyes don’t leave Adrian because the sheriff’s still got a gun trained on him. The man behind her laughs and she feels him step a little closer. “Maybe if you ask nicely.” “No,” the sheriff finally says. His gun’s pressing into Adrian’s chin and he’s looking into his eyes but after a moment he shakes his head. “No, he’s still a man,” he says. “So we’re going to hang him like one, under the eyes of God.” The man in front of Evan snorts but he nods his head and just watches as the sheriff drags her brother to the bars and handcuffs him the same way he did Frankie. Her oldest brother is laughing and Evan rolls her eyes because even handcuffed in a town cell he still can’t keep his fucking mouth shut. He’s twisting to look at the sheriff and he’s got a smile on his face, even as they grab Nicky and shove him towards the wall in the same fashion. “You believe in God?” he asks the man. The sheriff doesn’t glance at him. He presses Nicky’s face against the bricks and starts to pat down his side and check under his coat. Nicky’s making a face but he doesn’t look quite as scared anymore. They don’t find half as many guns on him and the sheriff smirks when he finds the little peashooter tucked into his boot. “Yes sir, I do,” the man answers Frank. He laughs, doing his best to lean against the metal bars like he’s at a fucking saloon. The sheriff still isn’t looking at him, taking Nicky to the opposite door and shoving him against the bars. “How many men you hung in this town sheriff?” Frankie asks. “Seventeen since I took office,” the sheriff tells him without a beat. She thinks it’s interesting he remembers the exact number. “Every one of them bandits, though most of them not half as bad as you and your family.” He comes forward and grabs Evan around the arm, dragging her into the cell so that he can take all her guns away. She glares at the black splattered across the wall and tries to ignore the feeling of the man’s hand sliding under her coat and pulling her gun from its holster. Frankie’s still grinning. She can hear it in the tone of his voice, even if she can’t see his face. He’s having way too much fun with this and she hopes he’s got a plan to get them out of it before she feels a rope around her neck. Maybe their luck’s finally run its course. “Well sheriff, how many of those men knew your name, your whole, God given name?” “Don’t see how it matters,” the sheriff answers him. He tugs the gun out of the waistband of Evan’s pants and hands it to his deputy. Another booming laugh leaves Frankie’s throat. “Oh it matters,” he says. Evan rolls her eyes because she knows what’s coming next and her brother’s worse than a god damned preacher sometimes. “You sent seventeen men up to the pearly gates and you didn’t even tell them your name? So how the fuck is God supposed to know who the hell you are? You think he’s just sitting up there, watching what goes on out here in the wasteland? God doesn’t give a fuck about us anymore. He’s abandoned us, and the only way to make sure he remembers your name is if you fucking teach it to him. You get what I’m saying, son?” The sheriff shoves Evan a little harder than necessary against the wall as his hands drop to her legs. She stares at the bricks and she doesn’t like the feeling. “Oh I get you alright,” the sheriff spits. “And I don’t think I like a fucking killer like you talking about God.” Frankie chuckles. “What?” he asks. “Just because I pray different than you, I can’t have faith in the Almighty? That’s awfully bigoted of you son.” Evan feels him grab the back of her neck and shove her against the bars by Nicky. There’s a man waiting on the other side to cuff her wrists and he grins and winks at her when he does. She spits on the ground next to his feet. “I don’t use my faith to justify being a murderous son of a bitch,” the sheriff says. He lets go of the back of Evan’s neck and then he walks past his deputy to stand in front of CC. He crosses his arms over his chest as he studies him and she can’t see his face to know what he’s thinking. “What’s your name, fella?” he asks after a moment. They’ve still got guns trained on CC and his hands are resting on the back of his head. He meets the sheriff’s eyes calmly and without emotion or fear. “If I have a name I am not aware of it, however I am most commonly referred to as CC. Sugar plum has gotten it into his head to refer to me as Carl, so if that name appeals to you more than I will consider it an acceptable substitute,” CC tells him. Frankie starts laughing, resting his head against the bars. “Classic,” he drawls. “Carl, I think you better stop talking now.” The sheriff shoots a glare over his shoulder at Frankie and then he turns back to CC. After a moment he reaches over to the table and pulls one of the chairs free, sitting it in the middle of the room. “Have a seat, Carl,” he says. CC does as he’s told without hesitation and then the sheriff drags another one over and straddles it. He pulls his gun out and rests it on the back of the chair as he studies the other man. “Here’s the thing, Carl. I’ve got four warrants for the Starks, but nothing about a fifth one. You one of them?” “’Course he’s one of us,” Frankie says quickly. “He’s traveling with us, ain’t he? You think I’m the kind of man to pick up a stray mutt just for the hell of it?” He laughs afterwards and Evan keeps watching the sheriff because he’s not even turning around to look at her eldest brother. She wonders what the hell Frankie’s hoping for or if he’s just scared he’ll run off if they don’t get him in the cell. “I ain’t talking to you, Francis James,” he says over his shoulder. “I’m talking to Carl over here.” His voice lowers and he looks straight into CC’s eyes. “Now listen son, you just be honest with me. You can tell me if they’ve got you held against your will.” CC’s hands rest calmly in his lap and he doesn’t even seem aware of the gun still pointing at the back of his head. “I would prefer not to answer your questions,” CC tells him. The sheriff frowns at that and he sighs and starts to stand up out of his chair. “I am concerned that doing so would fall under the category of stepping out of line or cooperating with law enforcement in which case I believe the eldest Stark will follow through on his word and shoot me. It is an experience I would prefer to avoid.” The sheriff’s eyes widen and Evan can hear Frankie curse quietly at his answer. After a moment the sheriff laughs and runs a hand over his face. “Alright fella,” he says. “I think that tells me pretty much everything I need to know.” He moves the chair back over to the table and then gestures at CC to stand up. He does. “I’m taking any weapons off you, but then I’m letting you go.” The sheriff moves to do exactly as he promises and next to her Evan can hear Frankie letting out a string of curses. They all jump when the door bangs open and men in black uniforms hurry in through the door. They grab the man closest to CC and yank him away like his life depends on it and all their guns lower to point at CC’s head. “Get away from him,” the one in front demands. Evan’s eyes widen as she watches the small team pour in through the door, clearing a circle around CC and leveling all their guns at his head. “He’s company property and we’ll be taking him with us.” Wenston CC stands quietly in the center of the circle. Guns are all aimed at his head and it seems whatever authority the sheriff had over the situation, these city guards have now claimed. They are dressed all in black with masks that cover their faces. It is uniformity in its prime. He can’t see the men beneath the masks. He finds it symbolic. “Hands on your head,” the one in front of him says. CC raises his hands to do as he says and adds, “I find your excessive hostility to be highly unwarranted.” Frankie snorts from the jail cell the Starks have been placed into and CC turns his head to glance over at them. He is aware of their pending execution and he isn’t sure what to think about it. He isn’t sure he can be a saving grace if they are all dead. Frankie is looking at him with narrowed eyes and CC knows he must have said something the man didn’t want him to. He wonders if Frankie will shoot him in the head, even though they had come across unforeseen circumstances. He doubts the man will truly care and will probably pull the trigger. The door to the jail opens and CC looks in that direction. A man walks in, his boots heavy and loud on the wooden floor. He has a mask around his neck, but it doesn’t cover his face. He has dark hair and a moustache to match. His eyes are cold and there is a scar on his right temple. He is dressed similarly to the men holding guns to CC’s head, except he has a trench coat button in a vest over his chest. A heavy shotgun hangs at his side and silver bars are sewed over his breast. “Captain Meridian,” the sheriff says and the man pauses in the middle of the room, reaching into his pocket to pull out a pipe. He begins preparing his pipe then and there. “These are my prisoners…” The man, Captain Meridian CC presumes, holds up a hand to quiet the sheriff. He finishes stuffing his pipe and lights it up with a match, puffing on the smoke before he blows a steady stream out into the air and rolls his head to look at the Sheriff with cool eyes. “You can have the Starks, Henry,” he says. The Sheriff narrows his eyes at the informality of the name. “I’m only here for what’s mine.” “This kid?” the Sheriff squawks, waving his hand in CC’s direction. Captain Meridian walks to the circle of men, pushing one of their guns down and the rest follow the motion, standing back as the captain walks into the center of them and stands in front of CC. CC just keeps standing there, his hands laced behind his head. “Don’t let him fool you,” Captain Meridian says. “He’s probably the most dangerous of them all.” “Ha!” Frankie laughs from the jail cell. “Carl? I think you’ve got the wrong head case, buddy.” Captain Meridian only spares Frankie a small glance before he brings his attention back to CC. “Carl?” he asks. “You’ve given yourself a name?” “There was speculation as to what name I possessed,” CC says. “It is not a name I…” “What’s your designation?” Captain Meridian cuts him off, tipping his head slightly to look at the tattoo on the side of his neck. CC tips his head to give him an easier access. “CC380296-B,” CC rattles off. Captain Meridian nods and turns around to grab the chair the Sheriff had previously occupied. He turns it around so it’s facing CC and then sits down, crossing his legs and looking up at CC coolly. “Sit down,” he says and puffs on his pipe, looking at the glowing embers. CC frowns. “Your subordinates gave the impression…” “Sit,” Captain Meridian said louder, his voice booming and sharp. His eyes rose to CC as he finished his sentence. “Down.” CC turns to find a chair as Captain Meridian looks towards the sheriff. “Henry, you don’t mind if I hold an interrogation here, do you? I may have some questions for the Starks regarding my property.” The Sheriff sighs and walks around behind his desk, sitting down and folding his hands over his stomach. He shrugs like he has no choice or say in the matter and he probably doesn’t. “Just try not to make a mess,” he says. Captain Meridian smirks. “No guarantee.” Then his eyes come back to CC and his face grows cold and impassive. “Come closer,” he says. CC frowns and stands up, scooting the chair closer before he sits back down and waits for his next order. It doesn’t come right away. The man just seems to be studying him, puffing away on his pipe. Finally, he leans forward and says, “The word ‘calendar’ mean anything to you?” “Apart from being a tool used to track dates and time, no,” he answers. The man smirks. “Good,” he says. Then he reaches into his breast pocket and pulls out a small notebook. He leans to the side to eye CC’s designation code again and writes it down. He doesn’t look up as he says, “You were supposed to come in on a transport yesterday. When they didn’t show up, I figured something went wrong. I told them to send more guards with you.” He looks up finally and says, “Did you kill your guards?” From the jail cell, he hears Frankie snort and Evan scoff. He starts to glance over there, but Captain Meridian raises a hand and snaps his fingers in front of CC’s face, keeping his attention on him. “You keep you damn eyes on me,” he snaps out bitterly. “Did you kill your guards?” “I did not,” CC answers simply. Captain Meridian leans forward. “Who did?” he asks, his chin raised questioningly. “A man named Damien,” CC tells him. “I did not catch the others’ names.” “What happened to this, Damien?” Captain Meridian asks. CC frowns. “Sugar plum shot him.” Captain Meridian leans back in his chair and rolls his head lazily to the jail cell. The only reason CC doesn’t do the same is because the captain told him not to. “Which one of you is ‘Sugar Plum’?” he asks. Frankie snorts. “That’d be me, big boy.” Amusement passes across the man’s face and he looks back towards CC. He writes something down in his notebook before he asks, “Why did you stay with the Starks?” He kicks back in his chair, staring at the notebook as he waits for an answer. “My chance of survival was higher with the Starks than on my own,” CC explains. He goes to lift a hand to point at Adrian in the cell to tell them that he is also supposed to be the man’s saving grace, but as soon as his hand moves, the guards standing around them all lift their guns to point at him. “Jesus,” he hears Adrian breathe from the jail cell. Captain Meridian’s eyes come slowly up to look at CC. “Keep your hands on the arms of your chair,” he says lowly. CC glances down at himself and moves to do as he says. As soon as he does, the men around them put their guns back down. Meridian leans forward and seems to be studying CC’s face. “Your chance of survival?” he asks. CC nods. “Yes, I…” “You were making choices,” Meridian cuts him off again. Immediately, CC closes his mouth and he has the undeniable feeling he’s done something wrong. It sinks into his chest and it feels something like dread. The ability to make conscious choices was not an amenity he had been granted in the labs. It takes him a moment to answer, but he finally says simply, “Yes.” Meridian nods, his eyes narrowed. He folds up the notebook and puts it back into his breast pocket before he uncrosses his legs and leans in close to CC, studying his face. “Have you been engaging in freethink?” CC doesn’t answer right away again and it seems to make Meridian mad. He growls and stands, coming forward to pin CC’s wrists to the arms of the chair, his face right in front of CC’s. “Answer me!” he yells angrily. “Yes,” CC says again and the man backs away a little. He studies him again for a moment before he lets go and walks over to the Sheriff’s desk. CC sits still in the chair and risks a glance towards the others now that Meridian isn’t watching. They aren’t watching him either. They are watching the captain and frowning. Adrian turns back to look at CC and his frown softens into something sympathetic and suddenly CC doesn’t want them to die tomorrow. He’s unsure why, but he knows he doesn’t want them dead. Meridian comes back over and CC’s eyes snap away from them. He looks instead to what the man has in his hand and it’s a syringe. Meridian sits back down in front of him and holds the syringe up, but doesn’t say anything about it for now. “Choices, preferences, attachment, emotions, opinions. You’ve been having all of these?” CC glances at the syringe and he knows what’s in it. “It is human nature to have these…” “Human nature?” Meridian laughs. He looks up at the others around him like he wants them to laugh too. “You hear that? It’s human nature.” Then his face darkens and he sneers back at CC. “You’re not human. You haven’t been human in a damn long time, you hear me? You’ve just thrown four years of our scientists’ hard work down the drain by thinking you are, or even resemble something human. Are you proud of yourself? Are you proud of yourself for ruining everything we’ve worked so hard to erase out of you?” CC wonders if the man is trying to trick him. “Pride is a human emotion,” he says quietly. Meridian laughs and reaches up to grab CC’s chin harshly. He yanks his head forward and holds the syringe in front of his face. “You know what this is, don’t you?” CC glances at the syringe and he has that same feeling of dread settling in his chest. He looks back at Meridian and says, “I have answered all of your inquiries honestly.” The man’s face darkens. “Except for the one I just asked you,” he says. He shakes the syringe at him. “What is this?” “Hitch,” CC answers. Meridian smiles and lets go of CC’s chin. He leans back and squirts a little of the liquid out of the syringe. “That’s right. Hitch. Enlighten us on the effects of Hitch as I’m sure the Starks and our good Sheriff have never heard of it,” he says as he flicks the needle. CC hesitates for a moment before he says, “It temporarily abolishes free will and motivation. It can cause severe side effects such as uncontrollable shaking, internal hemorrhaging, or complete loss of motor skills.” CC pauses as Meridian sinks the needle into his arm and then continues as he shoves the drug into his system. “It causes temporary muscle paralysis and immense unexplained pain.” Meridian nods and stands up, walking back up to the Sheriff’s desk. CC’s hands tighten around the arms of the chair and he is familiar with this sensation. He is familiar with the burning and the sudden flaring of pain as it grows in intensity throughout his body. He is familiar but the only signs he shows are his hands tightening until his knuckles are white around the chair. “You’re fucked up, man,” Frankie says from the jail cell. Meridian chuckles as he comes to sit back down in front of CC. “What do we use Hitch for?” he asks and CC knows he already knows the answer. “Negative reinforcement,” he says, his voice shaking. They sit quietly for a moment and CC’s arm is shaking but it is the only part of him that does and he is lucky this time around. Meridian leans forward. “I’m giving it some time to sink in,” he explains. “You’re not going to engage in freethink when you’re back in the lab. In fact, you may not be allowed to think at all. They might shut you down altogether. They don’t need your mind for where you’re going. They just need you.” He tips his head to the side. “On a scale on one to ten, how bad is your pain?” CC swallows. “In your scenario, is one or ten considered highest?” Meridian snorts. “Ten.” “Seven,” CC says without hesitation. The man laughs and stands up, nodding to one of the men in black. Two of them come forward and grab CC’s arms. They have to physically pry his fingers from around the arms of the chairs and it isn’t CC’s fault. Before they have a chance to lift him up, Meridian snaps his hand forward and grabs CC’s chin again. He pulls his face so it’s near his. “Hitch doesn’t allow you to lie,” he snarls. “Are you going to engage in freethink again?” “Most likely,” CC says and he hears Adrian make a small noise. Frankie snorts, but it doesn’t sound like his normal amused noises. Meridian smiles and just says, “We’ll see,” before he nods at the two holding CC and they guide him out of the jail and towards the city building. CC wonders if he’ll see the Starks again before they are executed. He’d like to think so. .Wolfie. “What do you think’s going to happen to him?” Nicky asks. Evan is surprised by the question because it sounds almost like her kid brother cares. She glances over at him and he’s sitting on a bench as close to the door as he can. On the wall next to him are their Wanted posters and she sighs because they’re all fairly accurate and she can’t help but think they walked right into this. He’s looking out the door where they dragged CC and he’s bouncing one knee restlessly.“I don’t know Nicky,” Adrian says. “They’ll probably send him on to the city where they can poke and prod at him and take him apart to figure out how he works.” He sounds exhausted and when she looks over at her brother he looks it too. He looks tired and drained and a shaky cough leaves his throat before he rolls his head to the side to look at Nicky. There’s bitterness in his voice when he speaks and he trembles just sitting on the bench next to her. Evan’s got her legs thrown over his lap and her head’s resting against the wall, staring up at the window where she can still see bright sun filtering through the window and onto her face. She thinks about the man named Captain Meridian and she doesn’t like him and she doesn’t trust him. He’s got no interest in them but it doesn’t stop her from hating him. He represents everything wrong about the cities and the people that live in them. Every freedom got stripped away piece by piece and people let them get taken because they thought they were getting safety in return. If she had to choose between living safely and living free, she’d pick the second one. “You think they’ll electrocute him or put needles in him or something?” Nicky asks. He leans his head back against the wall and he studies the Wanted posters, his foot still tapping away. Evan sighs and rests her head against Adrian’s shoulder. Outside the bars a man sits by the door. He’s kicked back in one of the wooden chairs and he’s got his gun sitting on the table in front of him. They took all the Stark’s weapons away and threw them in a metal trunk against the far wall and she misses her guns already. She isn’t sure where the sheriff went, but he’s not in the building anymore and neither is his kid deputy. “It don’t matter,” Frankie says. He’s sitting on the other side of the cell, his head tipped back against the wall and his eyes closed. He’s smiling but Evan doesn’t know why because they’re stuck in a fucking metal cage and Adrian’s only hope at any kind of a life just got taken away from them with a scary fucking asshole with a moustache. Frankie cracks his eyes and focuses on Nicky, grinning slightly. “I’m still going to shoot him when I see him again.” Nicky glances over at Frankie and she sees a flicker of fear and sadness on his face before he ducks his head to try and hide it. “I guess so,” he says, and he doesn’t sound thrilled about it. “Whatever, he’s just a moron Frankenstein anyway.” Adrian frowns and sits up a little at his brother’s words. His hands tighten around Evan’s shins and she reaches a hand out to grasp her brother’s because he’s shaking just sitting upright. “Are you serious?” Evan demands, and she’s not sure why she’s arguing but it pisses her off that Frankie would still shoot him. “You’re going to fucking shoot him after all that?” “What can I say, I’m a man of my word,” he says. He shrugs afterwards, that grin lingering on his face but he tilts his head to the side at her reaction. “Why you arguing with me?” he asks. He watches her patiently and waits for an answer but she doesn’t have one for him right away because she’s not sure. She doesn’t like CC. She doesn’t like him because Nicky’s partially right about him. He does act like a robot. But she’s not sure if that’s all his fault. “I’m just agreeing with what you said. We can’t fucking trust him, right Evan? Dog like that can’t be retrained. You saw how he jumped when they told him to.” She glares at him and shakes her head. “You’re a fucking asshole, Frankie,” she says, but she doesn’t really have a good argument for him. “You just going to drag a body around in the back of the jeep? It’ll stink the whole damn thing up.” Frankie shrugs again and he’s watching her and Adrian like he’s just testing them now. He points a finger at him and lifts one eyebrow. “Maybe I’ll just drain his blood then,” he says. The words are morbid, even for him, and Evan glares at her brother because she can’t tell if he’s serious or if he’s just trying to fuck with them. “All we really need anyway.” Adrian’s voice lowers and he’s gritting his teeth as he tries not to shake. His knuckles are turning white he’s gripping Evan’s shins so hard but she lets him because he’s fighting the sickness in his chest and she doesn’t care if he leaves bruises. “You’re not shooting him and you’re not draining his blood, Frankie,” Adrian tells his brother. He keeps his voice frighteningly calm and she knows its because Frankie will hear the doubt if there is any. “We’re getting him back and when we leave we’re taking him with us.” Frankie snorts and lifts an eyebrow at Adrian. The smile lingers on his face but she’s not sure if she should believe it because he’s got a dangerous look on his face and then he tilts his chin back in a challenge. “That so?” he asks. “You going to stop me?” “If I have to,” Adrian tells him. He doesn’t look away from Frankie’s eyes because Frankie’s like a fucking rabid dog. He can smell fear and he can smell weakness and if Adrian blinks then he’ll take it as a sign of both. Evan keeps her hand on her brother’s shoulder and a part of her almost wants to laugh because both of them are talking like they’re making it out of here. Neither of them are talking like they’ll be hanging from the gallows tomorrow at dawn. She takes comfort in that. After a moment Frankie turns his gaze towards Evan. He jerks his head to the side and he’s got a smirk on his face. “Evan, why don’t you tell your dumb shit brother who’s in charge around here?” He laughs afterwards like he’s trying to be funny. Evan shrugs and she tries to pretend she’s not a little bit scared of her oldest brother. “He says you’re not shooting him, than you’re not shooting him Frankie,” she tells him quietly. The smile lingers on Frank’s face but even as she watches him it fades and dims and he’s looking at her like he’s annoyed or betrayed. “Don’t think for a second I’ll side with you over Adrian on anything,” she tells him. That kills the rest of his smile in short order but she doesn’t blink and she doesn’t look away because it’s the truth. It’s Adrian’s life on the line and if he wants his saving grace to be a breathing human being she’ll back him up on that. Frankie snorts and shakes his head at her. “Didn’t I say you had a soft spot for a man in handcuffs?” He spits on the ground afterwards, slumping against the wall and gazing out between the metal bars. She watches him for a moment because she doesn’t think he really even wanted to shoot the kid. She can’t fucking tell with him. “Didn’t know you’d gotten that fucking desperate though.” The Starks are quiet for a moment and she ignores the comment because it’s just Frankie being an asshole. She leans her head against Adrian’s shoulder and he coughs next to her. It sounds ragged and wet and they need to get CC back because her brother’s still dying. “Maybe they’ll take his brain out and put it in a fish tank or something,” Nicky says abruptly. “You think they can do that?” “Jesus, just shut the fuck up Nicky,” Evan snaps at him. The man outside the cell startles her when he laughs. He leans back a little farther in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head as he watches them through lidded eyes. “If I were you folks I’d worry less about what they’re doing to your little friend and more about where the four of you are headed come morning.” He grins and waggles his eyebrows. “Sheriff’s outside right now getting the gallows all ready for you. That’s right, even you little lady. We ain’t got no qualms about hanging women.” Frank laughs and just that quickly he’s back to normal. “Son, you ain’t got a snowballs chance in hell of getting a rope around my neck,” he tells the man. Then he sits forward and points his finger at him. “But let’s say even if you did, I ain’t worried. I sent enough souls up to the pearly gates that everybody in heaven and hell probably knows my name by now.” The man snorts and his eyes narrow at Frankie. Evan groans and is ready to slam her head against the wall because there’s always some dumb asshole around to egg Frankie on. “God would never let a man like you into heaven,” the man says. Her brother grins and he stands up. It makes the man drop his chair back onto the ground and his hand goes straight for his gun. Frankie doesn’t bat an eye, sauntering up to the bars and wrapping his hands around them. “You think so?” he asks, tilting his head to the side. “Tell me son, how many souls have you sent up to the gates? How many of them knew your name?” When the man doesn’t answer right away Frankie grins and points at him. “See, God’s not paying any fucking attention to what goes on down here anymore. You want him to know your name, you have to teach it to him, even if you have to do it one corpse at a time.” “Yeah alright, Francis,” the man spits. He stands up and walks across the room a little ways, but he doesn’t get close enough for Frankie to make a grab for him and that’s surprisingly smart of him. “But you ever thinking teaching God your name that way is the fastest way to get a ticket to Hell?” He grins and leans forward. “Because that’s the only place you and your family are headed.” Nicky rolls his head to the side and he focuses on Adrian and Evan. “You think that Hitch stuff is why he’s like a robot?” he asks. The question makes her lean a little harder against her brother because she didn’t know shit like that existed. If there’s a fucking drug out there that can take away free will than shouldn’t she should know? Maybe it’s already in the city’s damn water supply and they just don’t know it, or maybe CC was a test subject for that too. “You think they’re going to give him more of it?” “Yeah, I do,” Adrian tells him quietly. He sounds sad and regretful and he glances past Frankie towards the door. He can’t see out it but they can hear the banging of hammers from outside and its probably the gallows being erected to hang them up come morning. “That sucks,” Nicky says. It’s almost sincere and for a minute he leans his head against the wall. He looks sad and a little lost and Evan almost gets up to go over to him but Adrian’s still trembling next to him. Than her kid brother looks at the posters on the wall and he turns to face the man in the chair. “Hey, your wanted posters are all wrong by the way,” he says. “I’m a blonde now.” Wenston CC sits on a bench in a cell. His back pressed tightly against the wall and his arm is still shaking, tight, gross spasms as he tries to hold it still with his other hand. It’s not working, but he’s lucky this time. It could be worse. It could be much worse. Outside of his cell, Captain Meridian is playing chess with another man dressed all in black. The Captain is winning, the other man just doesn’t know it yet. CC can already see the outcome of this game. He decides to stay quiet. He thinks he’ll stay quiet whenever Meridian is around from now on. He thinks about the Starks. He knows he’s not supposed to be thinking about them freely, but he is. He knows its defiance, but he can’t help himself. He doesn’t want them to die and that’s an odd sensation for him because CC doesn’t have wants or desires. He’s not allowed to. But he wants this. He wants them to live and he can’t say why, but he thinks it’s because of all the people in the world he can remember, they were the only ones who treated him human. Even if Captain Meridian said he wasn’t. The door to the city building opens and CC catches a glimpse of the dark night air outside. It gets dark in the desert. It’s much different from the city and he thinks if he was allowed to think things were beautiful, he’d think the dark desert was. With only moonlight. He thinks that’s what beauty looks like. “They’ve finished constructing the gallows,” the man whose just come in from outside says. Captain Meridian doesn’t even look up from his chess game as he says, “News like that will spread.” The man in black tilts his head to the side. “You think there’ll be retaliation?” Meridian smirks, but it’s not something nice and CC feels the man has more interest in the Starks than he’d originally let on. “Let’s hope,” he says, finally glancing up. He puffs on his pipe and pulls it from between his lips to point it at CC. “With the recovery of our property and the Starks blood on our hands, the city will have a lot of things tipped in its favor.” “You don’t think we should take the Starks with us?” the black clad man says. Meridian shakes his head. “We cannot risk escape.” He moves a piece on the chessboard and smiles at the quiet man sitting across from him. “Checkmate,” he says. The man merely sighs and starts pulling his pieces back towards his side of the board. Meridian turns his head to look at the man standing. “How’s your wife?” “Baby’s due soon,” the man says, an obvious change in his voice. CC can’t read what it is. “That’s good,” Meridian says. “We need more in the labs.” The man clad in black shifts awkwardly and Meridian just watches, a cool, curious look on his face. “We were thinking about keeping this one, sir,” the man says. “Julie, she wants a family, and this is our third…” “The labs need it more than her,” Meridian interjects and then stands up, snuffing out his pipe before he claps the man on the shoulder. “You understand, I’m sure,” he says. The man seems hesitant at first, but then his shoulders drop and he nods his head. Meridian looks pleased and looks as though he’s about to say something more, but a sudden noise starts beeping in the corner of the room. Everyone’s eyes turn to the alarm going off, a red light flashing brilliantly. Meridian snaps his head back towards the man and barks, “Perimeter alarm. Handle it.” “Sir,” the man says back and turns, waving Meridian’s chess opponent to follow and the two run out of the building. Meridian is alone in the room and he stands with his back to CC for a moment. He doesn’t turn until the red beeping alarm shuts off in the corner of the room. When it does, the building seems quiet. Turning, Meridian eyes CC and then smiles, but it’s not friendly. “Coyotes,” he says. As soon as the word is out of his mouth, the alarm starts beeping again and Meridian’s eyes raise to look at it. He stares at it for a moment and when it doesn’t shut off this time, he stalks over to a cabinet in the corner of the room, removing his shotgun. He arms it and turns to point at CC. “You try anything, you get a double dose of Hitch,” he says and then hurries out of the building, leaving CC is darkness and silence. He sits like that for a while before he hears the screaming start. It starts off with one person, perhaps two. But it steadily grows and becomes accompanied by gunshots and mad howls that don’t sound like humans and don’t sound like coyotes. CC thinks that he should be afraid, but he isn’t. Or at least he doesn’t recognize it if he is. The yelling and screaming continues for a long time before the door to the city building opens. CC turns his head to see who is entering, but he only sees a shadow pass across the open door before all he can see is the moon hitting the sand outside. Something dark stains the sand in a puddle just barely within his eyesight and he thinks it’s blood, but he can’t be sure. There’s a crash from the corner of the room and CC turns his attention to the noise. It’s dark, almost pitch black in here and CC can’t see who is there, but he doesn’t think it is anyone he knows. The footsteps are too sporadic and quick. If it were one of the Starks, they’d be making more noise and talking, he’s sure of it. It if were Captain Meridian, the man would make his presence known. CC doesn’t think it’s any of them. He doesn’t think its human. In the next moment, he’s proven right. The freak launches itself from the darkness and into the bars of CC’s cell. Blood splatters around the bars and onto CC’s face and clothes. He blinks and watches as the creature tries to twist and turn itself through the bars. It’s doing a pretty good job, but CC can hear its skin ripping and bones cracking as it tries to squeeze itself through. It’s about halfway through when CC stands up and walks towards it. He can see it a little clearer now that it’s close. It looks human, except maybe it’s missing its skin. It’s just red muscle and blood all over it. Black threads of veins spread out across its muscles and its teeth have been sharpened to points, its eyes white and dead. “I do not believe you are meant to come through that way,” CC tells it and the thing just snarls and lashes out at him with sharpened fingernails and bloody hands. CC frowns at it and isn’t sure what it wants or why it’s so interested in him, but he doesn’t think it would be a good idea to let the thing get close. A gunshot fills the air and CC flinches only a little as blood splatters in an arc up one side of his face. A chunk of the freak’s head hits him in the gut and he has to reach down to peel it away from the shirt he’s wearing. He drops the chunk to the floor and lifts his head to look first at the freak, lying limp and half its head missing, crushed between the bars. Then his eyes raise to look at who fired the shot and it’s not anyone he knows. Just a man in black clothes, probably one who’d pointed a gun at him earlier. The man runs across the darkened room. He punches in a code to the locks on the cell door and the door slides open, bringing the crushed freak with it and leaving a trail of blood on the ground from where it is dripping. CC watches it and then looks back at the man, who lifts his mask up off his head. “I’m part of the Resistance,” the man says, speaking as though CC should know what he’s talking about. He’s not sure he does. “I’m getting you out of here while the freaks keep the town busy.” He reaches forward to grab CC’s wrist, but doesn’t get much further before a bony spike makes its way through the man’s chest. CC just looks at it and then the freak who’d snuck in behind the man. It’s large and its bones are sticking out of its skin. The man dribbles blood from his mouth, but turns and fires a shot off at the freak, blasting its skull out the back of its head. The freak falls dead to the ground and takes the man with him. CC stands over him and tilts his head to the side. “Go,” the man says, choking on the blood bubbling up his throat. “Survive,” he splutters and draws a shuddering breath. “You’re the key.” Lifting his head to look at the door, he can see the jail where the Starks are from where he stands. There is still screaming and howling and gunshots coming from outside and he can see people running around in a panic. He looks back down at the man, but his eyes are wide and dead and CC thinks he should feel bad. Then, CC does as he’s told and heads out into the chaos, towards the jail. After all, his best chance of survival is with the Starks. That hasn’t changed. .Wolfie. Frank’s bored. Evan can tell he’s bored because he’s lying on his back on the bench closest to the bars and every five seconds he slams his boot against them so he can listen to them clang. It makes the same noise, over and over again and her brother has a grin on his face the whole time. Evan would tell him to knock it the fuck off but she’s enjoying the annoyed look on the sheriff’s face. He and three of his friends came back and now they’re sitting around the table talking quietly. Every so often he’ll shoot a glare over at Frankie and then look away just as quickly so that he can try and pretend it doesn’t bother him.Evan’s still on the bench against the wall, Adrian’s head now resting in her lap. He’s got his arms wrapped around his waist and he’s coughing and trembling, periodically spitting something black and vile onto the ground. He’s been like this for the last hour, and the chills are some of the worse she’s seen so far. His skin is damp with sweat and he’s biting his lip so he doesn’t make any noise. “I’m hungry,” Nicky announces. He was pacing for a while but now he’s sitting cross legged on the floor, facing the wall and tracing initials that somebody else carved there. “Hey,” he says, looking over his shoulder. “I said I was hungry.” “Yeah, that’s right Henry,” Frank calls. His boot slams into the bars again and he tips his head to the side. “Where’s our last supper?” The sheriff glances at him and he’s got a glare on his face as he studies Frank. For a moment his glance flicks over to Evan and Adrian and then finally down at Nicky. She wonders if it would matter to him if she said her kid brother never killed anybody. She wonders if he would even believe her, not because of how he looks but because he’s a fucking Stark. She’s almost surprised they have warrants here. She thinks about Meridian saying CC was supposed to hit the city yesterday and she wonders just how close they are to home. Frankie’s boot slams into the bars three more times before the sheriff sighs. He pushes himself away from the table and walks over to stand near the cell. Not too near, Evan notices, and that makes her smile. “You’ll get it soon enough,” the sheriff says. “Get your last rites and everything too, if you want ‘em.” His head turns and she’s surprised when he focuses on Nicky. “How old are you son?” Nicky tilts his head back until he’s practically upside down. He looks at the man and then he looks at Frankie for a moment like he’s going to tell him how to answer. Frank’s boot slams into the bars again. “Old enough to kill a man for asking,” Nicky says. Frankie laughs but he doesn’t call him on it and Evan just rolls her eyes, her head resting against the back wall. She keeps her fingers on her brother’s head and she feels Adrian tremble and then cough raggedly next to her. One hand reaches up for hers and she gives it to him without question. He squeezes hard and even though he’s sick and weak there’s still strength in the motion and she tries to take comfort in that. Under her breath she starts to hum to him but she keeps it low and soft. The sheriff snorts and he takes another step closer to the bars. Frankie doesn’t look at him for more than a heartbeat but Evan knows he noticed. His boot slams into the bars again and Henry glances at him before he hooks his thumbs in his belt. “Yeah, I gathered that much, being you’re a Stark. You know,” the sheriff says. “I got a boy about your age. Taught him how to shoot and take care of himself. Hell, I even made him my deputy.” He nods his head to himself and then he takes another step closer, still looking at Nicky. “He’s a real good kid,” he says. “Does everything his daddy tells him. That what happened to you, son?” Evan’s hand tightens on Adrian’s shoulder and she flicks a glance over to Nicky. He’s frowning as he looks at the sheriff and he looks at Frankie again for help. His oldest brother slams his boot into the bars again and when he doesn’t answer he looks back at Evan. She gives him a shake of her head. “Just keep your mouth shut, Nicky,” she tells him. Her kid brother doesn’t say anything and after three more loud bangs from Frankie’s boot the sheriff finally smirks. “I understand son,” the sheriff says. “All that killing and robbing and hurting innocent folk, that’s just you doing what your daddy taught you.” Nicky’s face falls and he glares at the sheriff, turning around to face him. “Don’t talk shit about my dad,” he snaps. “Shut the fuck up, Nicky,” Evan snarls. Her hands tighten on Adrian’s shoulder and she can feel him shaking underneath her. She doesn’t know what the sheriff is looking for but it’s nothing good. She doesn’t like that he’s asking about dad but there’s some small relief hidden in there because if he is, then that means dad’s still alive. At least as far as this cowboy knows he is. Frankie’s boot slams into the bars again and when the clang dies down the sheriff takes another step closer. He opens his mouth to say something but he never gets it off his tongue. A scream splits the air first and the four men outside the bars freeze. The only one who doesn’t is Frankie. He slams his boot against the bars again and then he starts to sing in time with the pounding of his feet. His voice is loud and booming and slightly psychotic because he’s laughing as he sings, his eyes tipped back towards the ceiling and a grin on his face. “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the fateful lightening of His terrible swift sword. His truth is marching on.” One of the men growls and grabs the gun off the table. He stands up and stalks across the prison and he’s almost to the bars when the sheriff grabs him by the shoulders and holds him back. “Shut up,” he yells, shaking the gun at Frankie. He strains to get away from the sheriff and his face is purple with anger, sweat rolling down his forehead. “You just shut the fuck up.” Another scream sounds from outside and Evan tenses, her fingers still around Adrian’s shoulder. The sheriff twists the man and shoves him towards the door. “You and you,” he said, pointing at a man at the table. “Come with me to check it out.” The man at the table pushes himself out of his seat, grabbing his shotgun and making sure it’s loaded. The man behind the sheriff is still glaring at Frankie and he looks like he just wants to shoot him here and now. She wonders if he’ll try anyway and then the sheriff grips his shirt and twists him towards the door. Another scream comes from outside and then it’s joined by a second and third one and she can see the dark cloud of fear start to settle over their faces. Frankie closes his eyes and he’s grinning as he sings, his voice a harsh timbre. “Glory, glory hallelujah,” he chants, his boot still slamming over and over into the bars. “You stay here and watch the prisoners,” the sheriff tells the man still sitting down. The screaming is louder outside and then the three men are opening the door and pushing their way outside. Adrian trembles in Evan’s arms and next to her Frankie is singing like he’s welcoming the second coming. She glances at him for a moment before she slides out from under Adrian. The man still inside is standing and he goes to shut the door, looking warily outside at the darkened desert before he does, locking it behind him. “What’s going on out there?” Nicky asks. He glances up at Evan as she walks to the bars, hands wrapping around the metal as she strains to look out the window. All she can see is night sky and a sliver of moonlight and that doesn’t tell her shit. It doesn’t tell her why the screaming’s getting louder or why there are gunshots going off, but she can guess and her guess isn’t good. “Probably freaks,” Adrian says from the bench. He coughs and gags and spits something black onto the ground below him. “Hey,” the man at the table snaps. He is fidgety and on edge, holding his gun in his arms and watching the door more than he is the prisoners. “You just shut the fuck up in there. If it is then we’ll kill them and you’ll still get your hanging come morning.” Evan leans against the bars and she bares her teeth in a smile at the man. “We’ll see,” she says. “Can’t hang us if you’re all dead, can you?” The man’s face falls at that and he takes a step towards her, the gun still held in his hands. He looks like he’s about to march right up to the bars and show her who’s boss and at the last second he pauses, his boot hesitating over the floor as he looks at her. “His truth is marching on,” Frankie sings next to her. He tilts his head and grins at the man, his eyes finally sliding open. “Hear that screaming out there?” he says. “That’s the sound of freaks slaughtering your town.” Frankie laughs and Evan glances at him because she’s not sure that’s the kind of thing he should be laughing at. He rolls over so that he’s on his feet and he drapes his arms across his knee. “I guess it don’t matter now if God knows your names or not. You’re all going straight to hell.” “Well I’ll make sure to send you there first,” the man snarls. He starts to lift his gun when something bangs hard against the prison door and he shouts in surprise, whirling and firing at the door before he even sees what it is. The shells rip a hole through the wood, blasting the handle off the door and sending it shattering to the floor. Evan takes a step back from the bars and the man stands there for a moment, smoke rising from the end of the barrel and his hands trembling. He licks his lips and takes a step forward, the screams still ringing loudly from outside and getting louder every second. They mix with the shouts and the gunshots and it’s all a cacophony of horror that Evan can hear echoing off the wall. She hates to admit it, but she thinks Frankie’s partially right about his God. If he’s real than he doesn’t want any part of the freaks. The man takes another step forward towards the door and he nudges it open with his boot. He starts to stick his head outside and Evan feels her heart slam against her rib cage as the freak bursts out of the darkness. Their jailor screams and stumbles backwards, his gun going off in his hand even as wicked teeth close down on the top of his skull. The freak’s head is as big as a horse’s, but that’s where the similarities end. It’s got jagged teeth and blazing red eyes and half its jaw gets blasted off by the man’s gun. They both crash to the ground and she hears his gun go off another two times before it stops. She thinks he’s dead, right up until she hears the screaming start. The freak’s still got its jaws around his head and she can see blood all over the floor but he’s still screaming. Frankie bangs his fist against the bars and he starts to sing again. It’s eerie and it echoes off the wall and then she hears Nicky whimper from the floor. “Evan?” he says quietly, and she glances down at him. He’s staring at the freak and he’s biting his lip. He looks like he’s ready to cry and then he looks up at her, his jaw moving but no words coming out. She steps back towards him and then she hears the hiss of breath leave his throat. She turns to look over her shoulder and when she does her youngest brother scoots back away from her, hand scrambling on the bench for Adrian. Her twin’s still weak and sick but out of the corner of her eye she sees him take Nicky’s hand and squeeze comfortingly. As soon as her gaze falls in the doorway she can see why he’s scared. There’s a shadow on the other side of the slowly swinging door and in the next second it’s nudging open. Evan’s jaw almost drops when CC walks into the room. He’s covered in blood and she has no idea if any of it’s his but he walks calmly and steadily like he’s just going for a stroll, though she can’t really picture him doing that either. Frankie’s head rolls to the side and he starts to laugh when he sees him. “I told you Carl,” he says. “Our saving grace.” Wenston “I assumed the title was for other reasons,” CC says with a frown. He stands in the doorway to the jail and the Starks are still in the cell he’d left them in. At his feet lie a deputy with a freak oddly attached to his head. CC glances down at it and tilts his head before looking back up at the Starks. Frankie snorts and shakes his head, standing up and slinging his arms outside of the bars, leaning his head against them as he looks at CC. “So, Carl, you just out for a stroll or are you gonna let us out of here?” he asks, grinning. CC glances towards Evan, who is kneeling beside a bench Adrian lays on. Nicky is sitting on the end of it, holding Adrian’s hand, but they are all looking at him. CC doesn’t say anything, because he can’t commit to letting them out until he finds the key. This jail isn’t as high tech as the city building. There are no pass codes, just simple locks and keys. He glances down at the deputy on the floor and then crouches beside him, starting to dig through his pockets. He doesn’t find anything there, but he catches a small glimpse of a ring attached to his belt on his side, trapped beneath him. He leans over the corpse and uses both hands to turn him onto his back. The freak attached to his head flops and black blood spills across the floor. CC pauses to glance at it for a moment before he goes back to pulling at the key ring around the man’s belt. As CC’s fingers close around the key ring, his arm abruptly starts to shake again. He frowns at it and pulls the key ring off the guard’s belt, standing up and wiping the excess blood off on his shirt. He looks towards the Starks and Adrian has sat up. He looks far sicker than he had when CC had last seen him. “You okay, CC?” Adrian asks. CC pauses at the question and looks down at himself. “I am uninjured,” he says. He starts walking over to the cell and continues with, “I am accustom to the effects of the city’s drug. It is fortunate the side effects are mild this time.” The answer doesn’t look to please them and he looks down at the keys in his hands. A sharp gasp emits from Evan and beside her, CC can hear Frankie swear under his breath and his hand comes out from between the bars and he demands, “Give me the keys, Carl,” and the joking, happy attitude is gone. CC glances up at him and pauses in his steps, not understanding what has made them scared. “Shit, CC,” Adrian croaks and coughs afterwards, using Evan and Nicky to climb to his feet. CC notices their attention is no longer on him, but rather on something behind him. He frowns and turns to look over his shoulder. There is something creeping in the doorway to the jail. A pale, gray arm reaches out onto the floor and its nails dig into the wood, leaving gouges as it tries to pull itself up into the room. “Give me the fucking keys, Carl,” Frankie snaps harshly and CC doesn’t turn his head back to look at the man, but he tosses the keys at him. He hears Frankie grab them and pause for a moment, probably to look at CC oddly, before he pulled the keys into the cell and started fumbling through them all, trying one key at a time in the lock. “CC, you gotta hide or something,” Adrian says. Nicky is tucked up under his brother’s arms and his eyes are wide as CC turns back around to look at them. “Go find a gun, Frankenstein,” he says, panicked. Frankie starts swearing when the first few keys don’t open the lock and then CC hears a thump from behind him. When he turns around, the freak has managed to pull himself into the room. It is gray and shriveled, nothing more than skin and bone. Its lips are cut away, leaving just his teeth, yellow and sharp. Its eyelids are gone too and its moaning constantly as it pulls itself along the floor, slowly and painstakingly. Turning around, CC faces the freak and tilts his head to the side curiously. The freak lifts its head to look at CC and its mouth falls open, gaping and wide. A loud groan escapes it and then, suddenly, it’s moving. He hears Evan and Adrian swear behind him and Frankie swears at the keys. Perhaps there was a whimper from Nicky, but he doesn’t have time to process their reactions, because the freak is moving faster than it should be able to or had let on. It’s across the room in a matter of seconds, leaping off the ground and towards CC. He does what comes naturally. Maybe that’s why he thinks it’s so odd. CC’s hands snap out to catch the freak’s shoulders. He twists his arms, turning the freak around and crossing his own arms on either side of the freak’s head. Then he’s falling backwards and wrapping one leg around the freak to hold it in place as he jerks his arms up at an angle. The crack of the freak’s neck is loud and sharp. Instantly, the freak goes limp and CC rolls it off of himself before he sits up and climbs back to his feet, brushing himself off as he turns around. The others are staring at him and he frowns because he thinks he knows why. Frankie has paused with a key in the lock and his head tipped to the side, his eyes narrowed as he studies CC. A slow smile is spreading across Nicky’s face and Evan just looks appalled. Adrian is smirking, but he is leaning too heavily on Evan to look anything other than sick. “That was fucking amazing,” Nicky breaks the awkward silence. He stands up and grabs the bars, putting his face to it as he looks at CC. “I knew you were a sleeper assassin. I told you how fucking cool that would be.” CC tips his head at Nicky and then looks back to Frankie, who is still staring at him with his eyes narrowed. He pulls the key out of the lock and points them at CC. “You know, Carl,” Frankie says. “I thought we had a better relationship than that. This is something that you probably should have mentioned when we met.” Turning to glance down at the now dead freak on the floor, CC frowns and looks back up at them. “It was an instinctual reaction to eminent danger,” he says calmly. Frankie’s eyebrows shoot up. “Instinctual?” He laughs and shakes the keys at him again. “I’d hate to see what other instincts you got. Being not human and all.” Adrian sighs at that, but it turns into a ragged cough and CC frowns, glancing at him before looking back to Frankie. “I am human,” he tells the man, who grins when the key clicks in the lock. CC takes a step back as Frankie shoves the door open. “Get our shit, Evan,” Frankie says, pointing to the metal box where their guns had been stashed. Evan leaves Adrian holding onto Nicky for support and goes to retrieve their things. Frankie twirls the keys on a finger and keeps his eyes on CC. “That’s a matter of opinion, Carl,” Frankie says. He clucks his tongue and waggles his eyebrows. Evan tosses him a handgun and he checks the cartridge before looking back up at CC. “You remember what I said if you stepped out of line?” “Frankie,” Adrian says, his voice strained. The eldest Stark brother doesn’t look at any of the others. CC quirks his head to the side and says calmly, “You would shoot me.” Frankie nods. “That’s right. And you stepped out of line,” he says, cocking the gun and aiming it at CC’s forehead. CC glances up at the barrel inches from his skin, nearly going cross eyed in the process. Then his gaze goes back to Frankie. “Jesus, Frankie,” Evan spits. “We talked about this.” Frankie narrows his eyes. “Well? What do you have to say, Carl?” he asks. CC frowns, wondering what Frankie wants to hear. “I know you are a man of your word,” he says simply. Something passes across Frankie’s face and CC isn’t quite sure what it is. He is quiet for a moment and the others are watching him. Then Frankie sighs and says, “That I am.” When he pulls the trigger, CC is the only one in the room who doesn’t flinch. He stands there calmly and watches Frankie’s face. The bullet goes wide, Frankie haven jerked the barrel away at the last moment. It embeds itself into the wall and for a moment, they all just stand there, Frankie holding a smoking gun to the side of CC’s head. Frankie’s face is dark as his gaze steadily meets CC’s and CC doesn’t look away. He just waits for Frankie’s orders because if there’s anyone he wants to follow orders from, it’s Frankie and he isn’t quite sure why, but he does. “Oops,” Frankie says at last and a grin splits his face. “I missed.” .Wolfie. “I do not believe it was an accident that you missed,” CC says calmly. He doesn’t move even with a smoking gun next to his head and Evan wonders if he would have just stood there and let her brother shoot him. Her heart is beating a little faster and she’s not even the one who got shot at. He probably could have stopped Frankie any time but he didn’t and she doesn’t understand him at all.“Didn’t I say you catch on fast, Carl?” Frankie says. “Can’t get anything past you.” He twirls the gun in his hand, blowing smoke off the barrel before he holsters it and walks over next to Evan to start strapping his guns back on. “You’re a fucking asshole,” Evan says, and she punches Frankie as hard as she can in the shoulder. He just laughs it off. “How’d you get out of there?” Adrian asks. He’s watching CC who hasn’t moved but Nicky’s helping him over to the box where they dumped all their guns. Outside Evan can still hear screaming and there’s one louder and closer than the others. It’s a woman and the screaming just gets louder and louder until it cuts off abruptly. Her eyes watch the door as she straps her weapons back on and as soon as she has the sawed off back in her hand she moves in front of it, watching the darkness through a crack in the door. “I was released by a man who claimed to be part of ‘the Resistance.’ I am not certain what his intentions were, however I did not question it when he chose to let me out of my cell.” CC says the words calmly, still standing in the same place Frankie left him like he’s just waiting for the man to tell him what to do. If he’s aware of the sudden stiffening of their shoulders and the slight hiss that leaves her mouth then he doesn’t show any sign of it. But suddenly Evan’s heart is beating a thousand miles a minute and they’ve got to be closer to the city than she thought. Someone from the Resistance, and suddenly she can’t stop the flood of memories. “Are you absolutely sure?” Adrian demands. He’s still pale and sweating but he pulls away from Nicky so that he can go and stand in front of CC. The others are quiet though Frank’s looking over his shoulder at the man with a curious look on his face. He jams the clip back in his gun and then he turns around and crosses his arms over his chest as he waits for CC to answer his brother. CC nods his head. “That is what he said to me before the freak punctured his chest. He suggested that I escape while the town is distracted, however I still believe my most likely course for survival is with your family.” Frank laughs and takes a step back towards CC. He crosses his arms over his chest and he’s grinning at him with one raised eyebrow. Evan is getting annoyed because he doesn’t seem concerned about the fact that there are still freaks outside but she’s worried another could come through the door any minute. She’s worried that there could be a whole fucking army of them outside and she’d rather hang from the gallows than get slaughtered by freaks. She’s grateful when Adrian stands next to her with a gun in his hand. “Is that so?” Frankie says. “I thought you weren’t supposed to do things like have beliefs or make decisions. Isn’t that what your Captain said? You ain’t human?” He’s got a smirk on his face as he studies CC and waits for an answer and the man is looking calmly back at him but she thinks she sees the first flicker of real emotion on his face as he meets Frankie’s gaze. “I am human,” he says again. His arm starts to tremble again and he looks down at it with a frown on his face. His fist tightens until it stills and then he lifts his head to meet Frankie’s gaze again. Her brother hasn’t said anything to that yet. Adrian’s gun goes off next to her and Evan yanks her eyes away from CC and Frankie. Long, bony fingers are gripping the edge of the door and as she watches a second hand appears at the top. She takes a step back and starts firing her gun in time with Adrian’s. The bullets punch holes through the wood but the hands keep coming and she hears Nicky let out a whimper behind her when another one appears around the edge of the door. She can see white skin through the holes and dark blood on the ground but it isn’t stopping a fourth hand from sliding under the bottom and gripping the door tightly. “Frankie,” she hisses. She doesn’t know if he even looks, but in the next moment the hands are yanking the door off its hinges. It splinters and breaks as the hands tear it away from the wall and she hears Nicky cry out behind her as the freak drags itself into the room. Its eyes are gaping and empty sockets, its jaw attached to its head by metal bolts and it is gaping and swinging below its face like the mouth of a puppet. It has four gnarled and twisted arms and as soon as it sees Adrian it bolts towards him. Her brother gasps and keeps firing his gun even as bony fingers close around his shoulders. It lifts him off the ground and he kicks out at the swinging jaw, a bullet pinging off its skull like the rest of it’s made of metal too and behind him Nicky is shouting. “Adrian!” she yells and her voice is panicky and scared. She fires desperately with the handgun and one of the shots nicks it in the throat. She sees black blood start to ooze out of its pale and gray skin and it lets out a rumbling roar. Its head twists like it still has eyes and those gaping sockets focus on her for a moment, even as its fingers tighten around her brother’s arms. It is leaving bloody lines in his skin but it doesn’t stop him from jamming the gun into its temple and yanking the trigger. There’s an awful noise after the blast, and it sounds almost like screeching metal. The freak groans and then it careens sideways and smashes into the table, reducing it to splinters beneath its weight. Evan puts a hand over her mouth and she can feel her heart slamming away in her rib cage but then she’s scrambling over the broken pieces to get to her brother. Adrian’s groaning and he’s got bloody lines on both sides of him but he’s shoving the freak off him anyway. “I’m alright,” he manages, taking her hand. “Jesus fucking Christ, Frankie, can we get the hell out of here now?” she snarls. Her head tilts over her shoulder and her brother studies her and Adrian for a moment. CC is standing behind him and if she didn’t know better she would think that was concern as he looks at Adrian and the freak that wanted to make him dinner. Nicky is in the corner and he’s holding a gun but that’s all. Finally Frank nods his head. “Yeah, alright,” he says. He smirks and then he slings an arm around CC’s shoulders. The man stays calm and lets Frank lead him towards the door. “Come on son, looks like it’s time to blow this joint.” Nicky is still sitting in the corner but he scrambles upright when he sees Frankie leaving. Her brother lifts his shotgun and shoots something right outside the door but Evan just glances that way before she looks back at Adrian. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks. She puts an arm around him and he’s coughing harshly, trembling as he grips her shoulder and tries to stay upright. He’s shaking and it looks like that took all the strength out of him. Sweat pours down his neck and a groan leaves his lips as he leans a little too heavily against her. He manages to keep standing and keep his gun in his hand but she can’t imagine how much effort that’s taking. “I’m fine,” he tells her. They both know it’s a lie but she lets him tell it. He licks his lips and glances at the wounds on his shoulder for a moment and she follows his gaze. Red blood is sliding down his skin but she can see the edges of the wound lined with black and even as she watches the black moves on its own, threading over the slices like worms and she hears a noise building in the back of her throat. She’s not sure what the sound is but it’s pained and scared. “Don’t say anything about it,” Adrian says quietly. She nods her head and she tries not to feel something like despair sinking into her chest. She hurries after her kid brother as he follows Frank and CC into the darkness and she can hear Frank laughing as his shotgun goes off. They’re trying to move quickly and get back to the jeep because the sound of guns and screaming is still loud and echoing. If she looks away from Nicky’s back she’ll see it. She’ll see the woman trying to crawl down the alleyway to her left and the freak crouched over her and peeling the skin off her a piece at a time. She’ll see the dead men lying against the wall and the blast of gunfire from the church down the road. Frankie shoots at anything that crosses his path. He doesn’t care if it’s freak or human and Evan just tries not to step on the bodies he leaves in his path. He’s humming that stupid fucking song under his breath again but Evan doesn’t say anything about that either. She just follows her brother, keeping Nicky in the middle and Adrian at her side. He keeps his gun out and he empties his clip at the freak that starts to crawl between the buildings on their left. He fills it full of holes and they keep pushing on. The man guarding the town is dead. She isn’t surprised. He’s hanging by his shoelaces above the guard house and his face is gone. There’s blood on the sand underneath his corpse and its sinking darkly into the ground. Frankie glances up at him for a moment and gives him a mocking salute before he walks past it towards the jeep. It is where they left it, but it’s not in the shape they left it. It’s been ripped apart. Food is strewn out across the ground and the seats are shredded like something with claws was inside it. Their guns and their gasoline is still intact but the CB radio has been ripped out and smashed on the ground. So has the GPS. Frankie nudges a piece of it with his toe and the song dies out in his throat. Adrian is shivering next to Evan and she tightens her grip on her brother even if he is losing more and more of his humanity every second. He’s not even bleeding anymore. The freak blood is doing something to him and he’s just got black strips on his arms where he’s been clawed. She doesn’t question it and she doesn’t point it out but she’s scared and the black sensation of despair is sinking deeper into her chest. “What do we do?” Nicky asks. He flinches when he hears a gun go off somewhere behind them and he twists his head over his shoulder to look. There’s fire rising from somewhere in the town and the wailing and crying is louder than the gunshots now. It is rising up into the sky like a storm and she feels like they’re looking back at Sodom and Gomorrah. Frankie kicks the GPS out of the way and he doesn’t give it another glance. His voice is cold and hard when he jerks his head at the jeep and he ignores the question. “Get in the fucking jeep,” he snaps at Nick, and his expression is just as icy as his voice. Nicky swallows and then he hurries to do as his brother says. He crawls across the backseat and yanks the opposite door shut, curling in on himself and wrapping his arms around his waist. Frankie watches him and he lets go of CC so that he can go around back and tamp the canvas down. They don’t know how much they’ve lost and now’s not the best time to try and find out. When that’s done he glances at Evan and Adrian and a snarl curls his lips. “Well?” he demands. “I said get in the fucking jeep.” Evan hesitates for a moment and then she nods her head. She helps Adrian in first and then crawls in after, trying to keep a hand on him at all times so he knows she’s still there. His head tips back against the seat and she closes the door behind them, glancing out and waiting for Frankie to follow. He doesn’t, at least not right away and she hisses when she sees Frankie turn and point his gun at CC. “You want to live or you want to die, Carl?” Frankie asks him. He’s got no expression on his face and he probably doesn’t care about the answer either way at this point. The GPS is broken and the chances of making it home are slipping through their fingers. CC tips his head to the side. “I imagine what I want has little to do with whether or not you will pull the trigger.” Frankie shakes his head and she can’t believe he’s doing this now. She sees something dark moving through the desert and she hisses his name but her brother doesn’t turn around. “See, that’s where you’re wrong, son. You say you’re human and I want you to prove it to me, right fucking now. So you tell me why you came for us. It the most logical thing for you to do or is it something else?” CC stares back at him and he doesn’t seem concerned with the shadow moving across the sands behind them. He tilts his head to the side as he considers the question and as he waits for an answer Frankie cocks the hammer back and takes another step closer to CC. Evan wonders if the man’s getting sick of having a gun pointed at his head. Then he licks his lips and she’s surprised when he opens his mouth. “I do not want to return to the city with Captain Meridian or his men,” he says. “I want to live.” Frankie watches him for a moment as he considers the words. His finger is on the trigger of his gun and his eyes meet CC’s without blinking. Evan’s gaze isn’t on her brother, it’s on the man behind him and she thinks she doesn’t want him dead anymore. Then Frankie smiles and he shoves him towards the passenger door. “Maybe you’re human after all, Carl.” Wenston He thinks this is a memory. A pair of lips, slightly parted, painted a deep red. A softly curved chin, rich and healthy. A beauty mark rests above the top lip. A slow breath comes out, forecasting a word, but the memory ends before the word can come. There is only a blank darkness behind the lips and he can see nothing else of the person they belong to. He has his head tipped against the window when the memory comes, but it’s gone in just the blink of an eye and CC sits up straighter, trying to pull it back because he doesn’t dream and he doesn’t have distant memories like this. He wants it back. But it’s gone and even when he closes his eyes, he has trouble picturing what he’d just seen. He thinks it was a memory. CC turns to glance at Frankie. They’ve been driving for hours, leaving the town and the freaks tearing it apart far behind them. It is still dark out, the moon high in the sky but CC thinks it will be morning soon. They haven’t slept. At least Frankie and CC haven’t. He turns to look over his shoulder at the three in the backseat. Nicky is asleep against the door, practically falling out of the seat, his mouth hanging open and his breathing heavy. Next to him, Adrian is leaned against Evan. He has stopped shaking and stopped coughing, but CC can still see the rise and fall of his chest. Evan has her arms around Adrian, her head resting on top of his and her eyes are closed. Turning back around, CC looks out the windshield and the lights from the jeep don’t even pierce through the darkness outside. He says nothing as they drive a little further and then Frankie pulls the jeep to a stop, putting it in park and shutting it off. CC glances at the man and Frankie just waggles his eyebrows at him, but for once stays quiet. Frankie hops out of the jeep and when the door closes, CC hears Evan take a sharp breath. He turns to look at her and she lifts her head off of Adrian’s looking around and when she notices Frankie is not in his seat, she turns her head to look at the rear of the jeep, where Frankie is pulling the canvas up and starting to unload some supplies. “We’re stopping?” Evan asks quietly. Frankie looks at her and then his eyes move pass her to CC. “Bonfire,” Frankie grins and pulls a gas can and a bedroll from the back. Evan frowns and then turns back to look at Adrian, still asleep next to her. Nicky is leaning forward, rubbing at his eyes, but he opens the door and hops out to go get his bedroll out from the back. “Adrian,” Evan says quietly. The man’s eyes flutter open and for a moment he seems disoriented until he lifts his head and sees Evan. He smiles and then pushes himself to a sitting position. He rolls his shoulders and rubs at the wounds there before he looks out at Frankie gathering some stray deadwood and setting up a campfire. He runs a hand over his eyes and then looks at CC. He smiles and CC wonders if he should smile back, but Evan doesn’t give him time to. “Come on,” she says, taking Adrian’s arm and shoving the door open. Adrian seems a bit stronger than he’d been a while ago, but he still looks pale. At least he can stand and move on his own now. They both crawl out of the jeep and CC pushes his door open as well. As soon as he does, Frankie throws a pair of jeans and a shirt at him. “Get changed,” Frankie says simply. “You smell like death.” CC glances down at himself and notes the blood still staining his clothes. “I believe the smell is emanating from the garments I wear, not me,” he says. Frankie doesn’t seem to care. He only snorts and then starts spreading his bedroll on the ground. Across from him, Nicky is doing the same and they have a fire burning in between them. Evan and Adrian sit down near the jeep. “Are those mine?” Adrian asks as CC starts pulling his jacket off. Frankie grins, laying down on his side, propped up on an elbow with the bible in one hand. “He ain’t fitting in mine,” he says. “Scrawny fucker.” CC pulls his shirt off and across the fire, Nicky makes a noise. “Shit, did those hurt?” he asks, his voice disgusted. At first, CC isn’t sure what he’s referring to, but then he looks down at himself and realizes he must be commenting on the scars crisscrossing over his skin. He has many of them. They are all precise and surgical in nature. They layer down his ribs like sewn up gills, one from his sternum to his bellybutton, one across his chest, just beneath his collarbones, and several others over his most important vital organs. “Minimally,” CC says, looking back up. “The oldest ones produced the most pain. I had not grown accustom to their procedures until this one,” he points a finger to the scar over his kidney. Adrian frowns. “You were awake when they did those?” he asks, clearing his throat afterwards. CC nods. “For most. But I suspect they performed procedures at night when I was not aware.” He points to the scars along his ribs. “I fell asleep with only four incisions here and woke up with five.” Frankie clears his throat, not looking up from the bible he is reading. “Carl, put the shirt on, will you? You’re scaring the children.” CC frowns and looks at the others, but immediately does as he’s told. He doesn’t want to scare anyone. He pulls his pants off, and he knows his legs are in the same condition as the rest of his body, so he quickly pulls on the borrowed pants. They seem to fit well, as he would suspect that did being that he and Adrian are similar in stature. The wind is light now and the heat is not blistering. CC holds his bloodied clothes out to Frankie, who glances at them and then wordlessly points at the fire. CC thinks Frankie is being incredibly anti-social, which is unlike him, but he turns and throws them on the fire anyway before he walks to the opposite side of the fire and sits down cross legged in the sand. “Fear not, for I have redeemed thee,” Frankie says, reading from the bible. Next to him, Evan groans and leans against the jeep. Adrian runs his hands over his face and then lays down next to her, his head in her lap. She places her hand on his head and leans her head back against the jeep, look up towards the sky. CC follows her gaze and he pauses, looking up at the expansive night sky. “From what I can recall,” CC says. “This is the first time I have seen the stars.” He doesn’t look at the rest of them and they don’t say anything, but he can feel their gaze on him. He keeps his eyes up and he says a bit more quieter, “I am glad I did not have to watch your executions.” The words hang heavily in the air before Frankie continues with, “I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” .Wolfie. .three. Adrian Stark is dying. He got shot in the chest three times when he was younger and he still hasn’t forgotten the feeling. He remembers blood filling his lungs and bubbling up between his lips. He remembers his vision blacking out on him and his fingers going numb. He remembers the pain more than anything. The sensation of his body shutting down on him and the bullets shifting in his chest are ones that linger with him long after they’ve been removed and he still wakes up sometimes thinking that he’s dying from a gunshot wound. He’s not. At least, he’s not anymore. Now he’s dying from something else and most days it’s worse than he lets on. He doesn’t want it to be, but he doesn’t have a say in it anymore. They got attacked by freaks in the middle of the night and it was a stupid, careless move. He killed the freak on top of him and then it dripped blood into his eyes and that was the day he died. He just didn’t know it yet. Dad saved him once but he doesn’t think he’s going to save him now. He’s not sure anything can save him now because he can feel it pulsing on his chest like a second heartbeat. It’s devouring his body and when it’s done it’ll devour his mind and then his soul. He sits on the hood of the jeep with his rifle and he watches Evan and Frank try to move the roadblock out of the way. The cement barriers bar the road three car lengths wide and the desert is rocky and steep around them. It’s a neat trap and Adrian wonders if anyone’s going to spring it on them or if it’s set for someone else. Somewhere half a day’s ride behind them is a town with an empty gallows and a road full of corpses. He wonders if the freaks will stay there or if they’ll move on when they get bored. A small voice in the back of his mind wonders how much longer it’ll be until he’s one of them. He’s trying to have faith, but that’s hard out here. “You think that guy with the moustache lived through it?” Nicky asks. He’s twirling a gun and trying to pretend he’s helping but mostly he’s just annoying Evan. Adrian smirks when he sees the annoyed glance his sister shots the kid and then it dies because he remembers a time when she used to smile a whole lot more. It doesn’t help having a dying twin brother and he wishes not for the first time that he had the stones to just shoot himself through the head and get rid of their burden. Thoughts like that don’t usually belong to him. They’re dark and morbid and they taste more of the sickness in his chest than of the man he used to be. He used to smile a lot more too, but the wasteland tends to strip all of those things away, piece by piece. “I don’t fucking know, Nicky,” Evan says. She pushes hard on one end of the cement barrier while Frankie drags the other end. “Who the fuck cares?” Frank asks. He grins over at his kid brother as they try to make room for the jeep and even Frankie’s faking it most days. There’s this unspoken cloud hanging over them because the GPS is broken and their CB is broken and driving all night and half the day hasn’t led them any place that looks like city territory. He’s starting to think they drove the opposite way and he doesn’t like where thoughts like that lead. They lead him right back to the gun on his hip and he’s not ready to give in and die yet. “I believe his chance for survival is approximately 79%,” CC says calmly. “He is a calculating, dangerous man.” He sits on the hood of the jeep next to Adrian because Frankie didn’t order him to help and he doesn’t do anything if Frankie doesn’t tell him to. It’s a smart way to stay alive but as long as he doesn’t start believing half the shit the eldest Stark brother says then he’ll be fine. It’s not that Adrian doesn’t believe in God, because he does. But he doesn’t believe in Frankie’s view of him. He’d like to think the Man hasn’t given up on them yet. He’d like to think that maybe he’s still hoping humanity pulls through in the end. Frankie laughs and jerks his head at the jeep. “Yeah? Well so is Adrian and a freak still got its hooks in him.” “Fuck you Frankie,” Evan snarls at him, giving the cement barrier another shove. At the words Adrian’s fingers rise to his arms and the bandages Evan helped wrap around them early this morning. They stopped bleeding last night but he doesn’t want Frank to see them. He doesn’t want questions about why the cuts are already sealed over because then he’ll have to explain that he’s getting worse. If he doesn’t say it out loud then maybe he won’t be dying quite so fast. There’s this dream he has, only it’s not one he has when he’s awake, of what’s going to happen to him in the next year. In his head he tries to believe that they’re going to find their way back home to the City and dad’s going to be able to do something with CC’s blood. He’ll get one of his scientist buddies to make a cure and it’s going to wipe all the black from his blood. It’s going to leave him clean and leave him human and when that’s done he’s going to find Riley. He’s going to buy her some daisies because they’re her favorite flower and he’s going to ask her to marry him because in all this time he’s never stopped loving her. That’s how it goes in his head. That’s his happily ever after and he knows it’s ridiculous because life doesn’t work like that but it helps keep him going when his hands start shaking and he can see the veins in his wrist starting to turn black. “Hey, thanks a lot for letting us out of that cell by the way,” Adrian says. CC glances at him after a moment like maybe he wasn’t sure the words were for him. Adrian keeps playing with the bandages and then he lets his hands fall in his lap, tilting his head to look at the man sitting next to him. He is a man, no matter what CC or Frankie has to say about it. He used to be a man anyway, before they took away his name and the City or the Corporation or whatever took him turned him into something else. “I imagine it would be much harder to be a saving grace if you are all dead,” CC says. Adrian gives him a curious look because he can’t tell if that was something like humor or not. The man isn’t looking at him. He’s looking at Frankie and Evan and the little shit behind them still playing with his gun. He points it over the desert and mimes snapping back the hammer again and again. Adrian laughs after a moment and nods his head. He runs a hand over his face and he is trembling but he grits his teeth and does his best to keep it still. Stubble rasps against his hand but his skin isn’t numb so he’s not dead yet. “Yeah, I imagine it would.” “Captain Meridian said something strange about you and your family,” CC tells him. His voice is the same calm, steady tempo that it usually is and Adrian takes solace in that. The man makes him feel better because if he’s got emotions he keeps them buried so he’s never looked at Adrian with veiled concern and pity in his gaze. He looks at him and talks to him the same as everybody else so Adrian tries to give him the same courtesy. “It was implied that your death would have repercussions behind that town.” “That so?” Adrian says. He looks at CC for a moment and the man turns to meet his gaze. “Now that is strange.” CC nods his head in agreement. “I was under the impression that you and your family were common bandits, however they discussed bringing you to the city and I found it a curious thing to say when it would be simpler and more efficient to hang you as originally intended. If he was not wary of the prospect of your escape, I believe Meridian would have taken you to the city to be executed.” Adrian leans back and laces his fingers behind his head. He’s not sure if he should be smiling or cursing so he doesn’t do either. There are two warring voices in his head, one that says dad might be alive and the other that says they know his name and who he is. “Well,” he drawls. “That’s because that’s exactly what happened the first time.” CC is still watching him and his expression barely changes. He looks a little curious and that’s about all and it’s different from what he’s used to. Evan wears her emotions on her sleeve. He can tell from a mile away when his sister’s upset and not just because she starts shooting and making noise. He can’t tell what Frankie’s thinking half the time but that’s because the man’s out of his damn mind, not because he can keep his thoughts to himself. And Nicky says whatever he’s thinking whenever he’s thinking it, no matter how stupid or inane the thought. “Hey Frankenstein,” Nicky calls. It’s like thinking about him got his attention and he trots over towards the jeep. “Are you going to do any cool sleeper assassin stuff again? Can you throw knives and shoot guns and stuff too or are you all like… a human weapon?” He grins and then he hops up on the jeep in between them. “Can you teach me to kill a freak like that? That was so fucking cool.” Adrian slaps his brother in the back of the head and Nicky whines afterwards, rubbing his skull and turning to glare at Adrian. He wants to return it but then a cough is pulling up from his throat and he turns his head to the side so he can spit black onto the ground. “It was an instinctual reaction,” CC says again. “It is doubtful that I would be able to teach you even if I recalled how it was done.” Nicky’s eyes narrow as he looks back at CC. “Are you calling me stupid again?” he demands. Adrian snorts and he’s turning to say something to his kid brother when he catches the glint of light on top of the ridge. A hiss leaves his lips and he’s already pulling the gun to his shoulder and sighting through it. There’s a man on the top and he’s got a gun pointed down at Evan and Frankie. Adrian doesn’t have to think about it. Once he would have. There was a point where he hesitated before killing someone because taking someone’s life never sat easy with him. There was always that little part of him that wondered what gave him the right. It didn’t stop him now because if the wasteland had taught him anything it was to shoot first and ask questions later. So he pulls the trigger and the blast is loud next to his ear as he shoots the man through the head. He slumps down on top of the rocks, his gun in his hand. “Motherfucker,” Frankie curses. He lets go of the cement barrier and Evan does the same. Both of them have their guns drawn and they’re scrambling up the hill towards the body. Adrian swings the gun to his right to watch the other side for more of them. “He’s outlaw,” Evan shouts down at him. There’s some small relief in that because that means he’s not from the city or one of the freaks. He catches movement on the other side and his gun goes off twice before he remembers that he’s dying and he starts to cough. The gun rattles in his hands as he tries to get it under control and in his chest he can feel that second heartbeat pulsing. He doesn’t expect the hand that reaches out and steadies his gun, but he is grateful for it. Wenston It doesn’t take long for them to clean up the corpses. Frankie makes CC help him pile the bodies into a pyre and light it up as they’d done before. He leans down to every one and puts his fingers over their eyes, telling them his name so they can carry it with them up to the pearly gates. As Frankie moves on to the next one, CC is sure he bends and does the same. Once they’re done sending off their dead, Frankie starts heading back towards the jeep. CC lingers for a moment to watch the bodies burn and his eyes lift towards the sky. Clouds fill it up and even though it’s bright out, he can’t see the sun. “Carl,” Frankie calls. “Move your ass.” CC frowns and turns around. Frankie has his back to him as he makes his way down the dune. He’s unsure exactly what the man is referring to, but he starts heading down after him. “Your common slang is an interesting annex to the English language,” CC tells him. Frankie snorts. “Well, you could learn to incorporate a ‘fuck’ or two into a few things you say.” He’s not looking back at CC. Instead, he’s looking at the new guns he’s confiscated from the bandits who’d tried to jump them. CC wonders if the Starks know just how dominant their dynamics are to anyone who would oppose them. He’s been watching them for a few days now and he’s fairly certain, given several combat scenarios, the Starks could come out on top in most of them. If they were to incorporate Nicky, that could raise their ability by a high margin. When they reach the jeep, Evan helps Frankie stash the guns into the back of the jeep and she has been unusually quiet for a while. Adrian sits on the hood of the jeep still, his hand rubbing at the scratches he’d acquired the day before. Nicky is pointing his gun from one ridge to the other, acting out shooting at the bandits. CC wonders if he’s ever even fired a gun. Suddenly, Evan growls and slams her hand against the side of the jeep, drawing all of their attention to her, but her eyes are towards the ground. “When are we going to talk about the GPS?” she says, spitting the words into the dust. “What’s there to talk about?” Frankie asks, not even looking at her as he finishes settling the guns in and pulls the canvas down, snapping it in place. “It broke.” Evan turns to glare at him and Adrian pulls himself down from the hood of the jeep. He stumbles a little on the loose sand and CC automatically reaches a hand out to catch his elbow. Adrian rights himself and then glances at CC, offering him a small smile. CC thinks again about returning it, but just pulls his hand back and turns back to Evan and Frankie. “It was leading us to the city,” she says. Frankie sighs and rolls his head to look at her. “So? We’re just back where we started, without a fucking clue how to get to the city, only God’s will to lead the way, and a few extra guns in our trunk. Only now we have Carl to keep us company.” Evan slams her fist into the side of the jeep and snaps, “He’s useless if we can’t get to the city.” A laugh escapes Frankie’s lips and he says, “Oh I don’t know, he disposes of bodies pretty well. And he’s a walking encyclopedia. I bet he could tell you any fact you want to know. Hey Carl!” Frankie yells, tipping his head to look pass Evan at CC. “How hot is the sun?” “At the core of the sun, about 1/10th of the photosphere is close to 13.6 million Kelvin, or 24.5 million degrees Fahrenheit or 13.6 million degrees Celsius. The surface of the photosphere is close to 5,500 Kelvin, or 9,400 degrees Fahrenheit , or 5,200 degrees Celsius. A 500 kilometer range above the photosphere is about 4,000 Kelvin, 6,700 degrees Fahrenheit, 3,700 degrees Celsius. If you are speaking about the chromosphere, the temperature increases with altitude…” Frankie holds up his hand and waves him quiet, smirking as he looks back at Evan. “See?” Evan yells wordlessly and punches Frankie in the shoulder. It only makes the man laugh and then she stalks back to the jeep, pulling the passenger door open and slamming it shut. Frankie is grinning as he watches her, but the smile starts to slip off his face. He masks it by yelling, “Aunt Flo came early this month, huh?” He slaps his hand on the jeep and starts walking to the driver’s side door. Behind them, Nicky has his shoulders slumped and he trudges through the sand to the backseat. The only one who hasn’t moved is Adrian and CC turns his head to look at him. He is leaning against the jeep, his arms crossed over his chest and he’s looking out at the desert. CC looks over his shoulder to look at the land with him. He can see a building sandstorm in the distance and he wonders if that’s what has caught Adrian’s attention. “The only thing worse than dying, is dying slow,” Adrian says quietly. CC frowns. “I do not understand,” he tells the man. Adrian just chuckles sadly and shakes his head, still looking out at the oncoming storm. CC thinks about it and then says, “All living creatures are born dying.” At that, Adrian turns to look at him. “It is inevitable. Most simply do not allow that knowledge to dictate how they live.” Adrian just watches him for a moment and he doesn’t say anything. CC isn’t sure if he’s going to, but he doesn’t get a chance to find out because then Frankie is yelling from inside the jeep. “Don’t make me leave without you two!” CC doubts the man will leave, but Adrian smirks, looking down at the ground for a moment before he shrugs himself off the jeep and pulls open the backdoor, letting CC crawl in first. Adrian crawls in after him and shuts the door. Frankie starts up the jeep and pulls through the broken barricade and off into the desert. They don’t say anything about the storm and they don’t say anything about the GPS. Adrian doesn’t talk about dying and no one is saying anything. CC frowns and he’s unfamiliar with the emotions the Starks are displaying. It is heavy in the air and he finds it oppressing and wrong. Beside him, Nicky has his head pressed against the window and he’s looking out at the sand. CC watches him for a moment before he says, “Would you rather lose your thumb or index finger?” Nicky makes a disgusted face and lifts his head to look at CC. “Oh shit, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that question,” he says and he hears Adrian let out a small laugh. “That’s a fucking good one. I’d rather lose my thumb. Need my trigger finger,” he grins and looks to Evan for, who has turned in her seat to eye CC oddly. Frankie scoffs. “I’ll lose my trigger finger any day. Thumbs are what separates us from the monkeys.” “You’re still a fucking monkey,” Evan snaps but the corners of her mouth start to turn upward. CC frowns. “Actually, humans are more closely related to apes, than to New or Old World monkeys.” Frankie laughs. “Classic.” .Wolfie. “You’re driving right into the fucking storm,” Evan says. Adrian glances at her from the backseat and she’s got her cheek resting on her fist, her elbow braced against the window as she stares outside. Her eyes are distant and she’s not smiling. She’s got a mix of sadness and anger on her face and Adrian knows why it’s there but he doesn’t call her on it. When her brother doesn’t answer her she lifts her head away from the window and then Adrian can’t see her face anymore. “Did you hear me?” she demands.Frankie laughs and he shoots a look over at her. Whatever he sees makes the laugh falter for only a second and then he’s slapping a grin back on his face. He reaches out a hand to ruffle her blonde hair and he looks away. It doesn’t bother him when she shoves his hand roughly away. He just settles it on the back of her chair instead. “I heard you little sister,” he says. “I just don’t care.” “I’ve got one for you,” Nicky says abruptly. “Would you rather die by hanging or by decapitation?” He’s playing with his peashooter with one hand and Adrian’s surprised no one’s made a joke about that. He points it at CC when he asks the question. “It would depend on the manner of decapitation and the manner of hanging,” CC says. Adrian smirks and he keeps his head resting against the window. His sister’s right. Frankie’s driving them right towards the storm and he wonders if his brother remembers that it’s not smart to tempt God. The wind is picking up outside the jeep and the sun is hidden behind the clouds and the dust rising up into the sky. The horizon is dark ahead of them and Adrian thinks he should be scared but he’s too tired to be scared. He knows the storms are dangerous and he knows they can bury the jeep if they get bad enough but they’ve lived through enough of them that it seems almost commonplace anymore. He’s more afraid of himself than them. Nicky lets out a frustrated noise and then he kicks his feet up on the back of Frankie’s chair. “What do you mean it depends? Would you rather be hung or have your head cut off? Am I supposed to say hung by the neck ‘cause that seemed obvious to me Frankenstein.” He tilts his head against the back of his seat and Adrian doesn’t miss that his brother isn’t looking outside anymore. “I am only inquiring because in most situations I believe I would prefer the quicker method of decapitation. However, if it were to take place with a dull object such as a butter knife it would be more painful and time consuming,” CC tells him. Nicky stares at him for a moment and from the front seat Frankie starts to laugh. “Decapitated by a butter knife?” he says. He twists in his seat to try and look back at CC and Evan curses when he does. She reaches a hand over to steady the wheel because Frankie’s not watching where he’s going. “Christ Almighty you come up with some strange shit sometimes, Carl,” Frank tells him. He shakes his head and he laughs again before he turns back around and brushes Evan off the steering wheel. Something like a frown creases CC’s face as he looks at the back of Frankie’s head. It’s not much of a change in expression but it draws Adrian’s attention and he watches him for a moment as he speaks. “I was merely trying to come up with an exaggeration extreme enough and simple enough that it would provide the appropriate levels of variation,” he explained. “Yeah, well I’d rather be hung either way,” Evan says. “More of a chance of living through that.” “You don’t get to live,” Nicky says, tilting his head and giving her a snotty look. He kicks the back of Frankie’s chair but he doesn’t even seem to notice. “Those aren’t the rules of the game. The question was ‘how would you rather die?’” “Yeah, and that’s how I’d rather die. ‘Cause I might live through it.” Evan rolls her head against the seat and Adrian thinks she looks tired. She looks as tired as he feels and even as he thinks that he starts to cough. He presses himself against the door and wraps his arms around his chest to try and hold it in but they wrack his body anyway, tearing black shit up from his lungs and splattering it across his fist. He’s dying, and even if the same can be said of everyone in this jeep he feels it settling deeper into his heart. “I’d rather be hung,” Frank says. “Course I already am.” He starts to laugh and Adrian snorts in response. Evan gives him a look and shoves him roughly in the shoulder before she settles back in her seat. “Nah, see I’d rather reach the pearly gates in one piece, instead of having to lug my head around with me. Not exactly how I planned on finally meeting the Almighty.” “Especially with how fucking heavy that thing is,” Evan tells him. She reaches over and gives his head a playful shove and he laughs in response. It’s enough to put a smile on his sister’s face and she settles back into her seat as the storm grows worse. Adrian can feel when it starts to toss the jeep around because the tires are rumbling beneath them and he can see Frankie fighting with the steering wheel. The wind is whistling loudly outside the windows and there is sand scraping over every inch of the jeep. The sky is dark and they can barely see ahead of them anymore, but Frankie doesn’t bother with headlights because they won’t help. He should pull over but he doesn’t and Adrian’s not sure why. There’s a wild grin on his brother’s face as he keeps the pedal down and he doesn’t understand his brother most of the time. The man’s out of his fucking mind but he’s family so here they are. “I find it curious that more of your strategies and violent engagements do not involve Nicky,” CC says abruptly. Adrian glances over at him and even Nicky’s looking at him with a curious look on his face. CC meets his gaze and redirects the question towards him. “I was under the impression that you knew how to use a gun, however I have yet to see you use one in anything other than practice.” Nicky makes a face and pushes his peashooter against CC’s knee. “Well now you’re going to,” he says. “He’s just a kid,” Adrian says. He smirks when Nicky shoots a glare over at him and he ignores it, reaching over to pull the gun from his fingers and shove him in the shoulder. “He’s never killed anybody and he shouldn’t have to.” “I could help you know,” Nicky says hurriedly and from the front seat he can hear Evan snort. Frankie’s just looking curiously in the rearview mirror but Adrian’s grateful that he’s not taking his eyes off the road in front of him as much. “See, even Frankenstein says I know how to use a gun and he’s only just met us. You could let me start helping, I swear I won’t get in the way.” “Shut the fuck up Nicky,” Evan says. She shoots a glare into the backseat at her kid brother and he frowns back at her. He shuts his mouth though and when she’s sure he won’t open it again she turns her attention towards CC. “Not another fucking word about it, science experiment,” she tells him. CC nods his head but when she turns around he looks over at Adrian with something like confusion on his face. He wonders if it’s Hitch that’s kept him emotionless and maybe now that he’s out of there that can change. “He’s a good kid,” Adrian tells him. Nicky makes a face at him from the other side of the jeep but he just shrugs and grins back at his brother. “The rest of us know we’re going to Hell, but Nicky over here might have a shot at making it through the gates.” “What’s the point if the rest of you won’t be there?” he asks, kicking the back of Frankie’s chair. The question surprises Adrian a little bit because it’s not the sort of thing to usually come out of Nicky’s mouth. He stares at his kid brother and then he has to look away because there’s a cough ripping up from his lungs and into his throat reminding him why he’s going to hell. He braces a hand against the seat and his body shudders and tries to reject the disease crawling through his veins. He’s already braced against the chair so when Frankie slams on the brakes he doesn’t go flying. He jerks in his seat and his head knocks against the window pretty hard but not half as hard as Nicky. CC catches himself on both of the seats in front of him and he just looks up curiously to see why they made such an abrupt stop. In the front seat Evan curses and yells when she gets slammed against the glove box and when she sits up she punches Frankie as hard as she can in the shoulder. “What the fuck? Do you ever give fair warning before you try and smash us all through the windshield? Fucking asshole.” Frankie ignores her, flicking his lights on and off in front of him. “Maybe you should’ve been looking ahead of us then,” he says, turning to grin at his sister. “Who says God’s not watching out for us? Maybe that little bonfire before got his attention.” Adrian squints and tries to look through the wind and the sand that races in front of them. It howls by the jeep and when it breaks off he gets a quick view of a squat, brown and white building sitting in front of them. There’s a metal tower rising from the top and he frowns when he sees it because it’s out in the middle of nowhere. Frankie grins when he’s given them all time to see it and then he drags the mask up over his mouth and his goggles over his eyes. He kicks the door open with a shotgun in hand. Immediately the wind and sand is rushing inside the jeep and the four of them struggle to get masks over their faces and goggles over their eyes. “He’s such a fucking asshole,” Evan snarls before she grabs her gun. She reaches across the seat to yank Frankie’s door shut and then she hurries out after him, slamming her own behind her. “Wait here,” Adrian tells CC and Nicky. He hears his kid brother whine as he goes to follow but he ignores it because he meant what he said. If he can keep Nicky from ever having to shoot at a guy he will. Bad enough the kid’s seen what his siblings do. There’s only one door into the place and there’s already sand banked against it. There are grates over the windows and at the moment they’re covered with wood from the inside. Frankie doesn’t waste any time. He goes to the door and he slams his boot into it. The thing rattles and shakes but it doesn’t open and he repeats the motion. Around them the wind is howling and Adrian can feel the sand trying to drag him down just standing there. If the storm gets any worse the whole damn jeep might get buried. “You hit my door again I’ll shoot you through it!” someone shouts from inside. It makes Frankie pause for a heartbeat and if he wasn’t wearing a mask Adrian would be able to see the grin on his face. Evan stands at his shoulder but she glances back at Adrian as he moves up next to her. She’s looking for any signs of weakness and he tries not to give her any, even if his lungs are feeling pained and constricted in his chest. He’s dying, but isn’t everyone? “You open your door and I won’t shoot you through it!” Frankie yells back. There’s no response at first to that and the screaming winds fill the silence. He can taste dirt and sand on his tongue even through the mask and it’s scraping the skin off his neck. Then the door cracks open and he catches a glimpse of someone scruffy and dirty through it. “Sounds fair to me,” he says. Wenston “So then I told the sergeant he could stick it where the sun don’t shine, you know what I mean?” the gruff stranger says as he shoves a can of beans at Frankie, who takes the can, but just looks down at it before setting it down next to him. They’ve made it inside the building, the storm raging outside the walls. There are no windows and only one door. There’s a ladder on the far wall that leads to a hatch on the ceiling, but right now the rungs of the ladder have a pair of socks and a pair of long johns slung over them. The building stinks and CC thinks most of it is coming from the resident who is cracking another can of beans and shoving it at Adrian, who takes it politely, but doesn’t eat it. CC doesn’t know what to make of the man. Frankie, Evan and Adrian had disappeared into the building for a long while. Nicky had been getting impatient in the jeep and was on the verge of going in after his siblings when Adrian had appeared in the doorway and waved them in. Apparently they’d made peace with the man and he’d invited them all inside to weather out the storm. He was an odd man. He was dirty and scruffy and he wore a bomber hat on his head. He had a long sleeve white shirt on, stained with sweat and food on his chest and under his armpits. A pair of suspenders hung over his shoulders, keeping his dirty trousers up. There were heavy, unlaced boots on his feet and it smelled like the man hadn’t bathed in a long, long time. “You were in the military?” Adrian asks as the man turns and grabs a final can of beans, popping it and looking over at Adrian. He laughs and slaps his knee. “If you can call it a military,” he laughs again, cracking himself up and CC doesn’t understand the joke. “The city guard ain’t nothing but a bunch of drones working for the queen bee, that’s what they is,” the man says and walks over to CC, holding out the can of beans. When CC reaches for it, the man retracts it suddenly, frowning. “You been to Waco?” the man asks and he sounds extremely suspicious. CC shakes his head. “If I have, I do not recall my visit,” he tells him. The answer seems to please the man and he holds out the can again. CC takes it and rests it in his lap. He’s unsure if he has ever had beans before. “Good,” the gruff man says and finally turns around to sit down in a rotted, ripped arm chair that is completely out of place out here. “Waco’s the work of the government, you know,” he says, pointing a finger at CC. “And they got eyes on everyone who’s been there. I don’t need them eyes coming here.” CC tips his head curiously. “I do not understand,” he says. The man slaps his knee and leans forward, giving CC a dangerous look. “You gotta get smart if you’re gonna survive, boy,” he says. “You gotta know these things. I know these things, that’s how I’m still kicking.” CC still doesn’t think he understands, and he is about to tell the man that when Adrian cuts him off. “What’s your name?” he asks politely. The man eyes Adrian and then dismisses him quickly, attention coming back to CC. “You ever been to Dalton?” “I do not recall,” CC says calmly. The man’s eyes narrow suspiciously and he leans forward. “You ever been to Ionia?” “I do not recall that either,” CC answers. Suddenly, the man is coming out of his seat and CC sees Frankie and Evan start to reach for their guns, but they don’t pull when the man simply grabs CC’s can of beans and yanks them out of his hands. “I don’t trust no man who can’t recall where he’s been,” he says and throws the can of beans into the corner of the room, where they spill out onto the floor. CC watches them a moment before looking back at the man, who settles back into his chair and then looks to Adrian. “Harvey Blake Ekosha Wellington the Third,” he says and tips his bomber hat. “A pleasure.” Frankie snorts. “God’s gonna have trouble remembering that one.” Harvey turns to look at Frankie. “There ain’t no God. God’s just something the government wants you to believe in,” he says seriously and points a finger at Frankie. “It’s all part of their hive mind plot. It’s so they can make you follow the rules without calling them their own rules. Well I don’t follow no rules! None at all!” the man says and stands up, walking over to a desk set up near the far wall. He starts shuffling through papers and there is a HAM radio sitting there with a jug of some amber liquid sitting on top of it. “No rules,” the man repeats to himself. On the bench where Nicky sits next to Adrian, he leans towards his brother and says, “This guy is a nutcase.” Adrian waves his hand to shush him. Evan sits near Frankie and she snorts. “I’d rather be in the jeep.” “Aw, come on,” Frankie says, grinning. “God works in mysterious ways. And if all else fails, we can shoot him and take that radio,” he points at the ham on the table. Harvey doesn’t react to the comment, just continues shuffling through the papers until he finds a photograph and snatches it up, stalking back over to CC and holding the picture up in front of his face. “You recognize this horse?” he asks. CC looks at the picture of the horse and shakes his head. “No, I do not recognize the horse,” he tells the man. Harvey pulls the picture back and looks down at it, narrowing his eyes at CC and says, “You sure about that, boy?” “It is not to say I have never met the horse before,” CC says and he hears Frankie start laughing. “It is only that I cannot remember if I have or not.” Harvey eyes CC for a moment before he leans forward and taps CC’s forehead. CC wonders if the man’s testing him for something. “You ain’t got a plate in your head,” he says, like it’s a bad thing. CC lifts a hand to his forehead and then shakes his head. “I was not aware I needed one,” he said. Frankie laughs again and grabs the can of beans, taking a mouthful before he says, “Classic.” Harvey completely ignores the others and he bends down so he is eye level with CC. “If you don’t have a plate in your head, you must have a chip in you somewhere,” he says, more to himself than to CC. He points at CC’s chest. “Lift up your shirt.” CC tilts his head to the side, but doesn’t lift up his shirt. “I am certain there has been no form of microchip or tracking device installed into my body,” he tells the man. “I am coded, but not tracked. It is…” “Coded?” Harvey squawks. “Coded?” he repeats and then hurries over to his radio. He clicks a button and starts tapping away in Morse code. CC is unsure what he said wrong and turns to look at Frankie, who is cracking up. Beside him, Evan looks annoyed. Nicky is amused and Adrian is just sitting there watching the man before he looks back at CC. “I am unable to follow this man’s logic,” CC tells Adrian. Adrian smirks. “It’s alright,” he says and then looks over to Harvey. “Look, we’re just here until the storm passes. We’re not going to hurt you or turn you in to the government,” he says. Frankie snorts. “No promises.” It earns him a dirty look from both Adrian and Evan, who punches Frankie in the shoulder. The man just laughs. “Aha!” Harvey yells suddenly and leaps back from the radio, bounding across the short distance towards CC before he grabs CC’s chin and shoves his head to the side so he can see the serial number on CC’s neck. Frankie isn’t laughing anymore as he says, “Easy with the goods there, cadet.” Harvey ignores him and CC sees Frankie’s hand go for his gun. But Harvey just tilts CC’s head back so their facing each other. “It’s you. You’re the rabble rouser.” CC frowns curiously and he’s not sure what the man is talking about. Harvey lets go of his face and grabs his collar, pulling him up out of his seat and towards the table. “Hey,” Frankie says, standing up and clicking the safety back on his gun. It doesn’t seem to bother Harvey in the slightest. “You’ve got them in a fuss,” Harvey says to CC, pointing at the radio. “You hear them? They been talking about you.” CC looks at the radio and all he can hear is static. “Does that thing even work?” Nicky demands, scoffing afterwards. Then CC frowns and tips his head to the side as he starts to catch patterns and noises in the static. He leans forward and Harvey glances at him, his eyes wide and leans forward too, their ears close to the speaker. “Do you hear them?” Harvey asks again. “They’re looking for you. They’re hunting you.” .Wolfie. “And who are they?” Adrian asks. He’s not sure if he should be concerned or not because the man looks and acts like he hasn’t touched base with reality in years. Still, he can’t help but think about one Captain Meridian and what he said while the Starks were cuffed inside a cell. He came all the way the hell out into the wasteland just for CC and if he really stops to think about it then he’s not sure the man’s just going to let him go, if he’s still alive that is. He wonders just what else they were using CC for and none of the answers he comes up with are anything good. He’s got a few ideas, but no real answers and he doesn’t like to speculate. “Probably aliens,” Nicky says. He snorts and reaches out to steal the can of beans from Adrian’s hands and he’s the only one that doesn’t seem concerned about CC standing so close to Harvey. Frankie’s standing and he’s got his gun held in his hand as he strides over towards the two men. Evan’s leaning forward with a hand on her gun and she licks her lips before glancing at Adrian. Harvey twists over his shoulder to shoot Nicky a glare. “Boy, there ain’t no such thing as aliens.” He stalks back over and then presses two fingers hard against Nicky’s forehead. Frankie’s face is still puckered as he watches the man and he doesn’t put his gun away. “Hey, get off me you crazy asshole,” Nicky whines. Evan leans forward and shoves the man’s hand away from her kid brother. “No plate in your head either.” He snorts and shakes his head again, throwing his hands up as he paces back to his radio. “They’d like you to think it was though, wouldn’t they? They’d like you to think it was aliens that killed all them people and not the disease they made in their labs.” He shakes his head and then he picks up a picture of dog and thrusts it towards CC’s face. “You know this dog?” he asks. He tilts his head to the side and waits anxiously for his answer. CC shakes his head and looks back calmly at the man. “I do not believe so,” he says. “If I have then I do not recall.” Frankie is frowning as he watches the man and then he abruptly laughs and runs his hand over his face. He doesn’t put his gun away but he does push the safety back on before he claps CC on the shoulder. “Good,” the man says, throwing the picture on the desk and turning back around to face CC. “They made that dog in the labs. They make everything there, that’s where they manufactured God and put him up on a billboard. Ha!” He laughs but it’s a joke only he gets. “You watch yourself, son,” Frankie tells him. “Or the Man might take offense.” “The Man?” Harvey squawks. He looks at Frankie with wide eyes and then he shakes his head, turning back to his radio. He wiggles some knobs and tilts his head to the side and Adrian doesn’t know what he’s looking for. He stays like that for a moment and then he shakes his head, looking back at Frankie. “He don’t know I’m here, nobody does, ‘cept for you folks. Trust me, he’s been looking, but he ain’t going to find me.” He laughs at first and then it dies and turns into a frown as he realizes what he said. He looks back at his papers and sifts quickly through them before he looks back up at Frankie. “What did you say your names were?” Frankie grins and he toys with the gun for a moment before he holds his other hand out. “Francis James Stark,” he tells Harvey, and Adrian doesn’t like that he gave him his full name. That’s usually reserved for the dead, and even if the man’s out of his mind that’s no reason to kill him. The man frowns and studies his face for a moment, tilting his head to the side. Then he lowers his gaze to Frankie’s hand and he examines it like he’s waiting for a trap and refuses to shake it. “Know that name,” Harvey says. He frowns and then quirks his mouth to the side before he spins the chair and looks back at CC. “Probably made you in their labs too,” he says, pointing a finger at CC. He looks blankly at the man’s hand but something like a frown is on his face and it draws Frankie’s attention. “I’m human,” he says. It’s not the first time he’s said it but every time Adrian swears he hears a little more insistence behind the words. He thinks he can relate. He scratches at his chest and he can feel the steady pulse of poison through his veins in time with his heartbeat. His body’s fighting it but it’s going to lose, and then he won’t be human anymore. If he’s lucky he’ll just be dead, if he’s not he’ll be a freak and he doesn’t know what’ll happen to him then. “No you ain’t,” he spits. “Not to them anyway.” He laughs and then he starts to mumble to himself, hand running over his jaw as he paces back to the radio. “The city guard,” he says abruptly, looking over at Adrian to answer his question. “They’re the hunters.” “That so?” Frankie says dryly. He keeps his gun out but he’s not shooting the man yet and Adrian’s almost surprised. He uses the barrel to start looking through the man’s stuff, sliding papers out onto the floor. A tremor wracks Adrian’s form just sitting there watching but he wraps his arms around his waist and holds it in. The man in front of them is out of his mind and already on edge and he doesn’t want Frankie to think he needs to start shooting in close quarters like this. He’ll do it happily enough already. “That’s all they been talking about for the last twenty-four hours,” Harvey says. He settles into his chair and pulls one leg up on the seat with him, his hands moving over the electronics in front of him and fiddling on the dials. He rests his chin on his arm and he tilts his head to the side to look at CC and he laughs. “Whatever you did, you got them real pissed off. They want you caught real bad.” “I do not believe I did anything to incite them,” CC says. He is looking at the man curiously and Frankie snorts at his answer. He stands over Harvey and his finger is lingering on the trigger of his gun but he doesn’t pull it. “You’re property to them,” Adrian tells him quietly. “As far as they’re concerned, you walking away is like stealing from them.” “Property?” Harvey says quickly. He pushes his foot against the desk and the chair slides back. Frankie snorts when it rolls into his knees and he shoves the man forward. He doesn’t seem to notice, moving his boot against the floor to drag himself in front of CC. “You’re one of them, aren’t you?” he says quickly, his head tilting to the side. He reaches up and grabs his shirt, yanking CC down so he can look at his neck again. “Damn, you one of the broken ones or are you a working model?” CC frowns again and he looks down at himself. “I do not believe I am in any way injured or damaged.” “Oh you’re damaged alright, Frankenstein,” Nicky says, and he laughs afterwards. “Robert Stark!” the man yells abruptly. His head snaps over to look at Frankie. “That’s how I know that name. Went to school with him. Thought he wanted to be an artist but they made him a programmer.” He snorts and shakes his head. “Don’t need artists, just need more drones to keep the system going. Go to work! Feed the Queen!” He laughs and it’s a little maniacal. “Fuck this,” Evan says, rolling her eyes. She stands up and the man immediately stops laughing to look at her. He looks nervous but she doesn’t notice. “I’m waiting in the fucking jeep. Do me a favor and if I get buried alive than just fucking leave me there.” “It is unlikely that they will listen to that request,” CC says. Evan glances over her shoulder like she’s startled by the statement and CC’s just watching her with no expression on his face. After a moment she actually smirks at that and shakes her head, walking out of the building and back out into the storm. Adrian watches her go and he’s almost surprised she left. He’s not surprised she’s sick of the man because she barely puts up with Frankie’s ranting and he’s family. But he’s surprised that she actually walked away and he wonders if his sister’s okay because she hasn’t been herself since they found the GPS smashed on the ground. Adrian wants to tell her she can’t give up. If she gives up then it’s like she’s giving up on him and he doesn’t have enough strength to keep holding on by himself. He thinks about the gun at his side and as soon as he does he looks away from the door and back towards CC because he’s the only hope he’s got anymore. “Don’t know a Robert Stark,” Frank tells the man. Harvey nods his head and then looks back up at CC. “So?” he barks. “You a broken one or a working one? Must be working ‘cause you ain’t killed us all yet, but maybe there’s just faulty parts in there. You got faulty parts?” CC shakes his head. “I am not sure I understand the question,” he says. “You broken in there?” the man barks. He leans forward and raps his knuckles on his chest, near his heart. “That’s what your kind do, isn’t it? You break?” He laughs and then he turns back to his radio, cranking it up until the loud static is echoing off the walls and maybe it’s better that Evan left when she did. “You hear it?” he asks, tilting his head to the side. He closes his eyes and Adrian frowns because maybe somewhere in there he can hear broken bits of words but he can’t make out anything solid. “You wanna turn that down?” Frankie asks. He’s looking a little trigger happy again and he twirls in one hand while he starts to peruse the rest of the place. He snorts when he sees a broken and smashed CB on the wall and he nudges it with the barrel of his gun. “Hey Harvey,” he yells over the static. “Don’t suppose you got a working one of these lying around that we could have?” The man blinks and looks back over his shoulder at him and the broken piece of machinery on the wall. He looks at Frankie’s face and then he smiles. “What about a John Stark?” he asks. “Knew one of them too. Might have been his brother.” “I believe Captain Meridian is alive,” CC says abruptly. Adrian glances at him but he’s just looking at the radio. Wenston “What makes you say that?” Adrian asks over the loud static of the radio. CC glances over at him, but then moves his eyes back to the radio. The clicks and beeps he hears embedded within the static have taken shape and it is a very intricate code, but easy to crack if someone were to pay attention. CC points at the radio. “It is city code,” he says. “A newer version from what I am familiar with, but it is similar enough to decipher. I did not understand who they thought was listening that they had to communicate in code, but I see now how easy it is to pick up the frequency.” Frankie snorts. “Easy?” he says and points the gun at the radio lazily. “That sounds like fucking static to me.” Harvey leaps up, rushing to the radio and he switches it off. “They’ve got ears,” he says. “The same way we do,” he says and his face darkens as he turns to look at Frankie. “You’ve brought ears here with you.” Then he looks back over his shoulder at CC. “You come from the labs, I know you do. I know your kind.” “I do not understand what you are referring to when you say ‘your kind,’” CC tells him. “Frankensteins probably,” Nicky says from the bench. He’s kicked back on it with his hands resting on his stomach. He looks amused by the whole thing and CC wonders why Evan was upset enough to go back to the jeep. He meant it when he said he didn’t think they would listen to her request to leave her buried in there. He found it curious that she was relinquishing her motherly role for a pained one. Harvey points a finger at CC. “I know Captain Meridian,” he says. “I met him a few times when I was in the guard. He’s a head hunter. If he wants you, he’ll find you and I bet he’ll give anyone who turns you in a reward, you know?” At that, Frankie’s gun clicks and it draw all of their attention. “You’re treading dangerously, Harvey,” he says, the grin still on his face but CC doesn’t think he’s really happy. Harvey blinks at Frankie and then grabs another picture off of his table, shoving it at CC. “You recognize this rabbit?” “Jesus, maybe we should just go wait in the jeep with Evan,” Nicky says. CC tips his head to the side as he looks at the picture and says calmly, “I have seen that rabbit before.” For a moment, no one in the room says anything. Nicky’s eyes are wide as he looks at CC. Adrian has a hand over his mouth, but he’s frozen in place at CC’s words and Harvey is staring at CC with narrowed eyes. It’s Frankie who finally breaks the sudden awkward quiet. He laughs and says, “Are you fucking with him, Carl?” “I assume you mean to ask if I am lying to create false hope in Harvey Blake Ekosha Wellington the Third,” he says and then shakes his head. “I am not.” He points at the picture. “That is specimen 647. Lepus Capensis. Issued three doses of Dexrazoxane Hydrochloride a day to study the effects of cancerous cell treatment.” CC’s eyes raise to look at Harvey. “The specimen expired after 47 days. It weighed less than a pound and developed alopecia.” Harvey stands still for another moment, his eyes wide and surprised. Then he lets out a whoop and hits CC hard in the shoulder. CC jerks backward but doesn’t do anything but blink at the treatment. Frankie sighs and takes a step forward as Harvey rushes over to a set of shelves on the wall. He starts digging through the boxes and containers there. “I knew it, I knew it,” he says to himself over and over. “I knew you was one of them. Why else would they want you so bad? You’re the one they cut up and put back together and couldn’t find anything wrong with. You’re the key. You broke the mold and they are pissed you slipped through their fingers.” CC tips his head curiously. “What does it mean I am the key?” he asks. Harvey just waves his hand over his shoulder at him. “Last hope of humanity,” he says as though it were nothing. Frankie snorts, but behind him, Adrian leans forward on the bench a bit. “What do they want with him?” he asks quietly. “Why would he be the last hope of humanity for the city guards?” “Where is it?” Harvey yells, smashing his fist against the shelves and then his eyes go to a lockbox beneath a bench. He dives for it and turns to shout over his shoulder, “Not the guards. The underground.” Then he moves back to the box and cranks it open. He shuffles through the bits and pieces in it and finally his hand wraps around what he’s looking for, drawing it up out of the box. CC catches one glimpse of it and then that familiar feeling of dread spikes through his chest when he sees what it is. He’s familiar with the device in Harvey’s hand. It’s an extractor. It’s a tool the scientists had used many times on him to takes things from his body. To take chunks of his flesh or samples of his blood or, if they dug deep enough, bits of his bone. “What’s the underground?” Nicky asks and CC can hear a hint of something like hope in his voice. He wants to look back at him, but when Harvey turns around, CC can’t peel his eyes away from the device in his hand. “Something that needs this,” Harvey says and comes towards him. CC can’t help himself. Even as he’s doing it, he can hear the scientist’s voices telling him that if it hurts, he can’t make noise or they will make sure it hurts more. It was conditioned into him that fear and pain were not something he was allowed to express or feel. Not through words, not through sounds and not even through facial expressions. He’d been told one time it’s to make it easier for the scientists to do what they needed to do. CC didn’t understand what they’d meant by that. But he can’t help it. He can’t help that he takes a few quick steps backwards, running into Frankie and twisting so he’s standing behind Frankie’s shoulder. He can’t help the calm, steady, “no,” that escapes his lips. As soon as he’s behind Frankie and he realizes what he’s done, he freezes and dips his head so he’s looking at the ground because he knows he’s done wrong and punishment will be forthcoming and it will hurt. CC can’t tell what Frankie’s first reaction is, but he can tell that he raises his arm and points the gun at Harvey. He can tell that Adrian stands up on the bench and Nicky sits up a little straighter. He doesn’t look at any of them. He’ll wait for them to reprimand him. Frankie’s voice is smooth as he asks, “Harvey, you remember what I told you my name was?” he asks. “Stark, Francis James,” Harvey says and then adds, “No relation to Robert Stark or John Stark.” Frankie snorts. “That’s right. Make sure you remember that when they ask who sent you.” The shot rings loud and he can hear Nicky gasp and Adrian swear, but he still doesn’t lift his head to look at any of them. He just waits. .Wolfie. “What the fuck did you do that for?” Frankie demands.He’s frowning as he looks over at Adrian but he keeps his hand on his brother’s arm anyway. He can hear Harvey start to howl and curse as he whirls away from them, his hand pressed over the wound in his thigh and the metal something in his hand clattering to the floor. There are curses spilling from between his lips and he hops his way over to his chair, slumping down and using both hands to try and keep the blood in his body. “I think you meant to kill me Francis James,” he grinds out. “I fully intend to finish the job, Harvey Wellington the third,” Frankie snarls. He’s glaring at Adrian and he bends his elbow to shove his brother off of him as he lifts the gun again. Adrian pushes back, shoving his arm to the left and sliding so that he’s in the way. Frankie’s starting to look a little bit pissed. “The fuck is your problem Adrian?” “Jesus Frankie, will you just stop trying to shoot him for two seconds?” Adrian snaps back. “Maybe he can tell us how to find the underground.” His brother is glaring at him but the words make the muscles in his arm relax as he considers it. Behind Frankie CC is standing quietly, his whole body stiff and so tense it looks like it hurts. His eyes are focused on the floor and Adrian’s not sure what the thing Harvey was holding is, but it’s the first time he’s seen CC look anything like scared. He didn’t even look like that when he had Frankie’s gun in his face or a freak bearing down on him. It’s almost strange to see Frankie standing in between him and that thing, his face hard and stance protective. It makes him wonder if his brother doesn’t have a heart in there somewhere after all, or if he’s just looking out for his saving grace. Nicky’s quiet and scared, his eyes darting from one of his brothers to the other because he’s not sure what’s happening. Adrian looks up at Frankie and he’s got anger etched in every line of his face and he knows he doesn’t like being interrupted when he’s trying to send someone up to God. He knows he’s pissed at him but he doesn’t care. He meets his gaze firmly and he opens his mouth to tell him why Harvey’s still alive when a cough rips up from his lungs and his fingers tighten compulsively on his brother’s arm. There’s a part of him that thinks Frankie’s going to take the opportunity to shoot Harvey in the head, but he doesn’t. He hesitates for a moment and then he reaches out to grasp his shoulder, turning his head over his shoulder to look at Nicky. “Go get your sister.” “I’m not a cripple,” Adrian says. Then he’s coughing black stuff up on the floor and he feels like a liar. Frankie laughs and slaps him on the back. The blow knocks something loose in his lungs and a rattling cough tears from him. “Sit the fuck down, Adrian,” Frankie says, and then he shoves him back towards his seat. Adrian catches himself on the edge of it and he can’t catch a breath long enough to fight back. His fingers dig into the wood and he wishes he could breathe without pain again. CC’s still standing with his head down and he hasn’t spoken a word. His posture is stiff and his hands loose at his side and he doesn’t even glance up when Nicky pushes past him to go outside and get Evan. He doesn’t look up and he doesn’t look at ease. Frankie doesn’t turn around to notice. He stomps across the floorboards towards Harvey’s side and the man is sweating as he uses a pair of pliers to rip through his pants so he can see the bullet hole Frankie put in him. The eldest Stark ignores the wound, crouching down next to him and gesturing at his face with the barrel of the gun. “I warned you,” Frankie says. “Told you that you was treading on dangerous ground. Now why don’t you tell me where the fuck this underground is and what that little toy was for.” “It is called an extractor,” CC says before Harvey can. “It is used to withdraw blood, tissue, or bone samples from a living subject.” Adrian’s got a hand over his mouth and he’s trembling but the coughing has stopped enough that he manages to lift his head to look at CC. The man keeps his eyes on the floor and his voice is quieter and colder than he’s used to. If Adrian didn’t know better he’d say he was still scared and then his gaze flicks towards the device on the floor and he decides that’s exactly what he’s seeing. “Huh,” Frankie says. “Well ain’t that interesting.” He runs a hand over his mouth and then he shakes his gun at Harvey again. He doesn’t look like he cares much how pale the man is or just how much blood is starting to pool under his chair. “What were you planning to do with a sample of my good buddy Carl here, Harvey? You gonna sell it back to the city, see if you can get yourself back in their good graces?” He sneers afterwards and the man’s eyes widen as he stares back at Frank. Then he starts to laugh. His hands are still pressing down on the wound in his leg and he’s pale and sweating but he laughs anyway. “City’ll just pay me in bullets, Francis Stark,” he says. “And then they’ll march their little toy soldiers across the desert.” The door slams and Adrian glances up to see Evan following Nicky back inside. “I was sleeping,” she snaps, crossing her arms over her chest. She looks more like she’s been crying but she’ll never admit to it and Adrian will never call her on it. “Jesus, did you just want to show me that you shot another guy? Listen, I don’t need to hang around for another one of your morbid funerals Frankie.” “He ain’t dead yet, is he?” Frankie asks. He grins over his shoulder at her and then looks back at Harvey. He shifts a little closer and then he presses the barrel of his gun right into the wound in his leg, twisting it a little bit until the man cries out. He curses and tries to grab the barrel to get it out of his skin but Frankie just keeps pushing. “Listen Harvey, I don’t know if you’re actually this fucking batshit or if you’re just putting on an act for us, but either way I’m going to need you to stop fucking around and tell me plain and simple if you know how to find the Resistance. Can you do that for me son?” The man cries out in pain again as Frankie keeps the barrel jammed into his raw flesh. He sucks in a breath and then he reaches out to grasp Frankie’s shoulder, pulling him closer “Just walk into the closest city penitentiary,” he tells him. Then he starts to laugh and Adrian sees his brother’s face contort with anger. He lifts the gun out of his wound and he points it at Harvey’s face and Adrian’s pretty sure there’s nothing going to stop him from pulling the trigger this time. “Francis James Stark,” he reminds him. “Don’t forget.” “Ethan Stark,” Harvey says abruptly. He’s still grinning even as Frankie points his gun towards the man’s forehead. He clicks his tongue and points at Frankie, nodding his head like he’s figured something out. “You know him?” Adrian’s not sure what Frankie’s going to tell him. His face is cold and his finger is stroking the trigger slowly and desperately and he knows his brother just wants to pull it but behind him he can hear Evan and Nicky suck in a breath. “Dad?” the kid squeaks out, and he pushes up past CC towards Frankie. He rubs at his arms like he’s suddenly cold but his eyes are wide and hopeful. Harvey starts to laugh and he nods his head. “That’s the one,” he says. His hands paw at the pictures on the table and he pulls out one of a monkey. He tries to lean around Frankie but the man stays in front of him, shifting his feet to make sure he’s in between Harvey and everyone else in the room. Adrian’s almost surprised how protective the move is but Harvey doesn’t seem to notice. He whistles and clucks his tongue to try and get CC’s attention. His eyes barely lift from the floor. “You know this monkey?” he asks. Evan snorts and she stalks forward, ripping the picture out of his hands. “Yeah,” she spits. “It’s the asshole standing next to me.” She tears it in half and tosses it on the table before she turns to look at Frankie. “Storm’s dying down, why the hell are we still here?” “Harvey,” Adrian says. His voice is shakier than he’d like and his hands are too. He curls them into fists to try and stall it and he tries to ignore how raspy his breathing is at the moment. He just focuses on the man as Harvey lifts his eyes to meet his and he tries to smile reassuringly. “Do you know how to get to Electric City?” he asks him. The man’s face falls as he looks back at him and then he shakes his head. “Only the desert knows,” he says. Then he laughs and shakes his head again, ducking it to start scanning through his pictures again. “And she ain’t telling. Here,” he says, finding one and pulling it out. “You hang onto this.” He starts to stand and his leg buckles underneath the pressure. Frankie moves and shoves him back in the seat and it puts a frown on his face. He’s holding out a picture towards CC and he looks suddenly sad and broken that the man’s not looking at him. “She’s the only one besides you that came out right,” he tells him. CC lifts his head cautiously at that. He looks at the device lying on the ground and he stays clear of it as he moves slowly towards Harvey. He is hesitant as his hand reaches out to take it and he pulls back quickly after his fingers close around it. He stands and stares at it for a moment and Adrian can’t read the expression on his face or if it means anything at all. Frankie tilts his head to see what’s on it. He snorts and lifts his head to look at Harvey with a glare. “That’s a fucking rat,” he says. CC is quiet. If he knows the rat’s specimen ID or its life story he doesn’t say anything and Adrian feels stupid just thinking that. He holds the picture in his hand and looks up at Harvey with a strange expression. “Thank you,” he says. Frankie looks at him curiously and then he finally lets his gun fall out of the man’s face. “Let’s go,” he snaps, reaching out to steer CC towards the door. The man ducks his head as soon as Frankie’s hand touches his shoulder and Adrian frowns because he isn’t sure why he’s acting strange around them. Then he starts to cough and its an effort just to hold himself together. He feels Evan’s hand slide under his arm and help him upright and he is grateful for the help. He doesn’t say thank you though. He doesn’t say it enough and he feels like he should because he’s dragging them all down and he should at least tell them he appreciates it. She doesn’t ask for anything in return and she pulls his arm over her shoulder as she guides him towards the door. “Do I even want to know what the fuck happened in here?” she asks, tilting her head to glance up at his face. He snorts and looks down at her. “Do I even want to know what you were crying about in the jeep?” he asks. Her face darkens at that and she looks away and that’s all he needs to see to know it was him. She was crying because he’s dying and he still is. Ahead of him Nicky shoves his way next to CC. “Hey Frankenstein,” he says. “Is that your girlfriend?” Wenston CC is waiting. He sits in the middle of the backseat with the picture of the rat pressed firmly against his chest. The storm rages behind them and the sun is shining ahead of them while Frankie drives them across the desert. No one is doing much talking. CC didn’t answer Nicky when he’d asked him about the rat, and he wasn’t sure where the kid would get the notion that a rat and a man could have a relationship from. Evan sat in the front seat and beside CC, Adrian was sitting quietly. CC couldn’t look at any of them because he was just waiting. He’d shown fear and rejection. He knew what came next whenever he did that. Only it had been an hour or loner since they’d left and they weren’t stopping and no one was saying anything to him about it. He didn’t know what to think of that, because with negative reinforcement, bad habit and actions needed to be addressed immediately or confusion over what habit or action was being punished could occur. Everyone knew this. Everyone who trained anything. People who trained their dogs knew this. “Do you think that guy really knew Dad?” Nicky asks quietly. Beside him, Adrian shifts and just leans his head further against the window. Evan growls from the front seat and it’s Frankie who finally answers. “Harvey Wellington the Third doesn’t know shit,” he says bitterly, but by the tone of his voice, CC thinks Frankie doesn’t believe that. He’s angry, that much he can tell. Frankie’s attention comes to the rearview mirror and he snaps, “Carl.” CC’s eyes raise to meet his, but his head stays ducked. “What happened with that extractor business?” CC lowers his eyes again and his hand tightens imperceptibly around the picture of the rat. “I apologize for my reaction,” he says quietly. “I understand it was wrong and will accept the repercussions.” The Starks are quiet for a moment and CC thinks Frankie is still watching him in the rearview mirror. Adrian sits up next to him and clears his throat, his voice dry and scratchy as he says, “What was wrong about your reaction?” CC stays quiet and he wonders if this is a trick. He wonders if they missed his reaction somehow or misinterpreted it and now they are trying to get him to convict himself. But Adrian nudges him with his elbow. “CC? Were you scared?” “I am not permitted to show fear or pain,” CC drones, because it is the answer they usually want. Frankie snorts but Adrian just says quietly, “Who told you that?” “The scientists,” CC says simply. Evan kicks at the glove box with her boot. “We’re not scientists,” she growls out. Then she turns to look over her shoulder at him. “You even said yourself Nicky doesn’t have the brain capacity.” “Hey!” Nicky yells kicking out at her but she just catches his foot and shoves it away, a smile on her face. CC isn’t sure what to make of it all. They don’t seem mad and he doesn’t understand that. “I can do science stuff.” “Bitching and moaning isn’t science, Nicky,” Evan tells him and Nicky sticks out his tongue and flips her off. Frankie clucks his tongue and says, “So it sounds like you’re hot shit, huh Carl?” he says, his voice low. CC glances at him, as do the others and when CC doesn’t respond, Frankie adds, “I mean, last hope for humanity – you’d think you were a Jesus figure or some shit.” CC just looks back down at his lap. “I would like to simply be Adrian’s saving grace for now.” The jeep is quiet. CC’s not sure if he’s said something wrong or not, but then Frankie surprises them all by slamming on the breaks. Nicky and Adrian crash into the seats in front of them and Evan catches herself this time, growling and swearing at Frankie. “What the fuck!” she spits out, but Frankie is already throwing his door open and walking around to the backdoor. He wrenches it open. “Move, Nicky,” he says and grabs Nicky’s arm, flinging him out of the jeep. Nicky gives a cry as he lands in the sand and it elicits curses from both Evan and Adrian. Frankie ignores them and wraps his fingers around CC’s bicep. “Come on, Carl,” he says, his voice hard and determined. “I apologize if I spoke out of turn,” CC says but doesn’t put up a fight as he’s dragged out of the jeep. “Frankie,” Adrian snaps and when his older brother doesn’t stop to listen, Adrian and Evan are both flinging their doors open and coming around to meet Frankie and CC in the back of the jeep. Frankie pulls up the canvas and starts rifling through their things. “Frankie,” Adrian tries again and CC’s shoulders drop when he sees Frankie draw out a handgun and a full clip of bullets. “Jesus, Frankie,” Adrian spits, trying to pull CC back away. Frankie just shoves him in the shoulder and in his weakened state, he falls back against the jeep. Evan reaches out to catch him and glares at her eldest brother. Frankie ignores them all, grabbing CC’s arm again and taking him a few feet away from the jeep. Behind them, Nicky is rounding the jeep with wide eyes. “Are you going to shoot him?” he asks, his voice sounding sad and scared. “Carl,” Frankie says, ignoring them all. He lets go of CC’s arm and stands so he’s facing him. He holds up the gun and the clip of bullets so CC can see them. “You ever fired a gun before?” The question quiets the others and CC looks at the gun before looking at Frankie’s face. “I do not recall if I have,” he tells him. Frankie nods. “This is how you load it,” he says and quickly loads the clip into the handgun. He looks up to eye CC. “You got it?” CC nods and Frankie unloads it, handing the parts to him. “What are you doing?” Evan demands harshly. “I told you,” Frankie says, eyeing CC closely, “If you were good, I’d let you have one of these. You came and got us out of jail and for some fucking reason you’ve attached yourself to my dying brother over there and if you’re serious about being his fucking saving grace, we have to make sure we make it to the city alive, you understand me? Adrian can’t hardly hold himself upright anymore and I need someone other than Evan whose going to have our backs.” Evan growls and CC hears Adrian sigh as he sits on the bumper of the jeep. “Fuck you, Frankie,” he says under his breath. Frankie grins and holds the gun and the clip out again. “So take this, on the understanding that if you fuck us over or hurt any one of my family, I will make sure your body is so unrecognizable that God won’t even know if you’re human or not.” CC frowns. “I’m human,” he says automatically. Frankie snorts. “So you’ve said.” Then he shoves the pieces into CC’s hands. “Now load it,” he says. CC looks down at the gun and the clip in his hand and he glances at Frankie’s face for a moment. Frankie just regards him back coolly. “I find the ferocity of your protectiveness of you family to be admiring,” CC tells him and he sees Frankie’s eyes widen slightly before CC looks down at the gun and the clip. He loads it faster than Frankie did. His hands are quick and knowledged of the workings of the gun. He cocks it back and then lifts his arm to aim it out at a rotted wooden tree they’d passed. He fires it three times, all three bullets hitting the trunk of the tree squarely, within an inch of each other. He lifts his head to look at the bullet holds he’s put into the wood and then draws the gun back towards his chest, looking down at it and examining it in his hands. When he looks up, Frankie is looking at the tree and his eyes come back to CC first before he turns his head back to look at him, his chin jutted in a challenge. “I believe this is a suitable weapon,” he tells Frankie. Frankie snorts and claps CC on the shoulder. “Just remember whose side you’re on.” CC nods and says, “Your side, sugar plum.” .Wolfie. .four. “You ever read the book of Revelations, Carl?” Frankie asks. He’s sitting by himself on the other side of the fire and he doesn’t look up from the Bible in his hands as he asks the question. He flips a page with his thumb, the firelight playing across the scars and the stubble on his face. He’s sitting on an abandoned tire, his elbows resting on his knees and a freshly rolled cigarette sitting unlit between his lips. “I do not recall doing so,” CC tells him. He is watching the cards in his hands and Evan watches his face for tics. “I have only read as far as Ecclesiastes in your book. I find his view of the afterlife somewhat contradictory to the view you have expressed.” “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again,” Frankie says, grinning down at his book. “Fitting words out here.” Evan snorts and then reaches up to pull the cigar from her lips and blow smoke out in front of her face. She moves her gaze to Adrian’s face and he is frowning, fingers still on his lower lip as he thinks about whether or not he should call or fold. She tries not to smile because she can recognize the subtle quirking of his lips and it tells her that her brother’s got a shit hand. Across the fire Frankie points at his book, shaking his head and smirking. “Revelations is about the end of the world, son. You should read it.” Adrian snorts and then he tosses his cards down in the sand. “I fold,” he says. His hand rubs across his mouth and Evan bites back a smirk as she looks down at her own cards. “You’ve got a sick poker face,” he tells CC, pointing in his direction. The man blinks and looks up at him like he can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. The gun Frankie gave him is in a holster at his side and it never strays far from his hand. Evan can’t tell if it’s because he doesn’t want to let him down or doesn’t want to lose a gift. “Then I will do so,” CC says, glancing across the fire at Frankie. Adrian’s right, the man’s got a hell of a poker face. It’s not really surprising but it’s frustrating because she doesn’t know if he understands the game enough to smile if he gets a good hand. “I’ll call,” Nicky says. He tosses coins into the pot between them and it’s nothing more than loose change but it’s the principle of the thing. Evan snorts because he always calls and he’s trying not to smirk at whatever he’s holding in his fingers but she’s not worried. Her gaze shifts back to CC and she sticks the cigar back between her teeth as she waits for him to decide what he’s doing. “Good,” Frank tells him. Then he clears his throat and starts reading from his book. Evan doesn’t even look over at him. She’s studying CC and trying to figure out if he’s got anything that can beat her Ace high flush. She’s trying to get a feel for his emotions, if he’s got any. She still can’t tell. The only reason she believes anything scared him is because Adrian said it did and he wouldn’t lie. “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death,” Frankie says. “Shut up Francis James,” she says to him. Her eyes don’t leave CC and she sucks smoke into her lungs as she watches his eyes. He’s tilting his head to the side as he studies his cards and then he tosses a few coins into the pile. “I will call,” he says. Then he glances over at Frankie. “It is my assumption that refers to the figure of Jesus Christ?” Frankie laughs and points a finger at him, finally lifting his head from his book. “Fucking A right it is Carl. Somebody’s been paying attention in Sunday school.” He chuckles to himself and looks down at the words in front of him. “Reading this shit makes me feel all kinds of fucking important, seeing how we’re carting around the second coming of Jesus Christ.” Evan rolls her eyes. “Give it a rest Frankie,” she tells him. He just laughs and turns another page and she doesn’t do much more to try and convince him that CC’s not his mythical fucking figure of Revelations. If he thinks he is then it’ll keep him from shooting the man, and she’s decided she doesn’t want him dead anymore. Most of it’s just because Adrian doesn’t. Then she jerks her head at Nicky and taps ash out onto the sand. “Alright kid, let’s see what you’ve got.” Nicky makes a face at her and pulls his cards closer to his chest. “Why do I have to go first? Why don’t you go first?” he demands. He sticks his tongue out at her in classic little brother style and Evan snorts at him, sticking the cigar between her teeth. “Alright,” she tells him, grinning and laying her cards out on the dirt. “Read ‘em and weep.” “Aw God damn it,” Nicky says. He tosses his cards down on the dirt and slumps back on his elbows. Adrian laughs and reaches out to ruffle his hair before he leans forward to peek at his cards. He snorts and lays them back down a second before he starts coughing. Evan shoots him a worried glance but it passes in a moment, the black splattering the dust the only sign of his sickness. She keeps watching him as he runs a hand over his face and sucks air back into his lungs. It takes him a moment but he clenches his hands into fists and the sickness dies down. He’s still sick, still dying, but he’s fighting it. “I believe according to your rules I have the better hand,” CC says. Evan blinks and looks up at him as he lays his cards down on the dirt and she frowns, her mouth snapping shut as she finds herself looking at a full house. She reaches up to pull the cigar from her lips and then just mutters a curse as she tosses them away from her. “Does this mean I win?” he asks. Adrian starts to laugh and he slaps a hand on CC’s shoulder. The man glances at him at the motion and he watches Adrian as he gives it a squeeze. “Yeah,” he says. “That means you win.” He’s way too cheerful about it and Evan narrows her eyes at him. “Fuck you,” she snaps. Adrian laughs at her again and then reaches forward to gather up the cards and start shuffling them again. Evan flicks ash off her cigar and turns her head to look out at the desert while CC collects his winnings. Its dark out and quiet out, the desert calm for once. They haven’t run into a storm since that last one a few days ago in Harvey’s shack and she’s grateful for that. Their jeep is damaged enough already and it’s impossible to determine just what color it used to be. She’s pretty sure they’re not anywhere close to the city anymore. They’ve been traveling for days and they haven’t seen any sign of it. There’s nothing out here, not anyone or anything. They haven’t run into bandits and despite the warning they haven’t run into anymore city guards either. No towns, not even any fucking coyotes. If the end of the world did come and go they’d never notice. She’s thinking about Harvey throwing their dad’s name out there. She wonders if he’s still alive or if he’s just this bogeyman figure the Resistance adopted. The old bastard would be happy either way but if he’s dead then so is Adrian and she can’t think about that. “Alright, deal me in,” Frankie says. “Can’t fucking read with you four yapping over here anyway.” She glances back at him and he’s closing his Bible for the night, setting it on top of his army green bag and moving across the fire to sit in their small circle. Adrian glances at him and he smirks and starts dealing the cards out for all five of them. Nicky’s grinning too and he scoots a little closer, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he gathers up his cards and narrows his eyes in concentration at them. CC hasn’t moved towards his cards yet but he tilts his head to the side as he studies them. Evan watches his face and he keeps it shuttered and blank but every day she wonders a little bit more what the hell is going on in there. She can’t tell and it’s frustrating and irritating and curious. “Your family dynamics are unusual,” he says. “Are all families like this?” Frankie laughs and picks up his cards. “Hell no,” he says. “Most of them are boring as fuck.” “Just wait until you meet dad, Frankenstein,” Nicky says. He’s grinning as he looks up at CC. “The old man’s crazier than Frankie.” Evan glances up at him and then she picks up a coin and tosses it at Nicky’s forehead. “That hurt,” he whines, glaring at her. “Then show a little fucking respect,” she tells him, pointing her cigar at him. Adrian is smiling quietly at her as he looks down at his cards and Frankie’s grinning and doesn’t even look like he cares. He calls him the old man, but he gets away with it because he’s the oldest and it makes him feel like he’s stepping out of line. Truth is, dad’s the only one that’s ever been able to haul Frankie back from the edge of that fine line he’s walking. Adrian tries, but he can never quite manage it, and Evan tries but Frankie never fucking listens to her even when he should. “He’s your dad, not some crazy old man. You get that straight.” “That’s what Frankie calls him,” he says. Nicky makes a face at her, rubbing the mark on his forehead and he flips her off when he thinks she’s not looking. She returns the gesture and she hears Frankie start to laugh but she doesn’t look up at him. She’s trying to keep her face straight because she’s got a shit hand and she wonders if Adrian stacked the deck on her. She glances up at his face for a moment and that quiet smile on his face suddenly means something completely different. She snorts and she thinks the answers yes. “Dad runs the Resistance in Electric City,” Adrian says abruptly. Evan frowns and glances up at him before she looks over at CC. The man’s facial expressions haven’t changed but he does look over at Adrian at the words. “So even when we get back there, you won’t have to worry about the City guard getting its paws on you again.” He looks up at CC and gives him a reassuring smile. CC nods his head and looks down at his cards. “I hope you are right,” he says. Then he tosses a few coins in the middle of the small circle. “I believe I am going to win this round as well.” There’s a quiet moment and then they all toss their cards down into the sand. “I fold.” Wenston CC’s not used to dreaming. He doesn’t know why he’s started know except maybe it’s just that the scientists don’t have him on Hitch anymore. His mind is fee to do what it wants and maybe it wants to dream. That’s the most likely reason behind them. He can’t say he isn’t glad to be off Hitch. But he can say he wishes his dreams were more in depth. He dreams in flashes. Before it was a pair of lips. Now, it’s a hand. Soft and small, with nails neatly manicured and painted a pale, pale pink. He doesn’t know why, but he thinks he can hear himself laugh. He thinks the color isn’t something that would normally be on those fingernails and he thinks he can hear himself laughing because whoever the hand belongs to, they don’t like it either. He thinks he can hear himself telling someone it’s beautiful. He thinks this is a dream, but maybe a memory. Either way, it wakes him up. It wakes him up because he’s not used to dreaming and even if it’s just in bits and pieces, it’s still something he has to get accustom to. He wonders who the person in the memories are and he thinks he should know them or recognize them, but he doesn’t. None of them look familiar and when he opens his eyes, it’s hard to remember what the memory looked like. He finds that to be the oddest thing of all, because his memory is black and white. He either remembers something down to the smallest detail or nothing at all. He’s never had this in between before. It’s still dark out when he wakes. The fire has died to a low burning ember. He can hear Nicky snoring on the other side of it and he’s the only one who makes noise when he sleeps. Frankie always sleeps on his back, with a foot propped up and his hands over his chest. It makes it hard to tell if he’s asleep or if he’s just laying there with his eyes closed because they both look the same. Evan is curled near Adrian, both on their sides. Adrian shakes in his sleep and Evan has a hand on his shoulder. CC knows it’s because when he stops shaking, she’ll know and she’ll wake up and make sure he’s still breathing. He noticed that the first night he’d spent with them. Sitting up, CC makes sure he’s quiet. He runs his hands over his face to wipe away the sleepiness and then he looks down at his waist to make sure the gun Frankie has given him is still there. He would feel bad if he lost it. It’s the first thing, other than the picture of the rat and the clothes, that anyone’s given him. It’s also a great sign of trust and confidence and CC thought it would take longer to gain both of those. He’s glad it didn’t. He’s glad Frankie has stopped pointing guns at his head. Looking around, CC checks on the jeep to make sure it’s still there and intact. Once he’s sure no one has taken it or stolen anything from it, he looks up at the stars because he’s still getting used to seeing them. He lets his hands rest in his lap as he looks up at them and he can make out constellations that he’d read about. He wonders if he’d be able to help find the city if he knew what direction it was in and what the constellations above it looked like. Maybe he could find a picture of the city sky and be able to help them determine which way to go. That’s how it was done in ancient times. When there were oceans and ships and explorers. CC wonders if the world still has vast oceans of water or if they’re now vast oceans of dirt. A noise somewhere in the distance draws CC’s attention back down to the earth. He looks out into the darkness and that’s all that surrounds them. No lights from towns or cities, no man made markings of any kind other than the Starks. It seems like a lonely place, this wasteland. CC is glad he has found the Starks and he wonders, not for the first time, if they’re glad they found him. He knows Adrian is. He’s come to an understanding with the man that when they reach the city, CC will do what is needed of him to save his life. He thinks Evan understands that too and her appreciation of CC is completely platonic. Nicky he thinks is just young and looking for a friend, which CC finds interesting and curious that Nicky’s teasing has turned from something disturbing to something friendly. Frankie he’s still trying to figure out. Something moves in the darkness out over the sand and CC stares at it for a moment. He can’t see anything and whatever had been there is gone. He frowns slightly and looks back over to Frankie, who lies still on his bedroll, eyes closed and an arm strung over his forehead. He thinks about Frankie telling him that he’s looking for someone to watch their backs and CC decides he can be that someone. Pulling himself to his feet, CC silently brushes the sand off himself and walks away from the Starks and their dying fire. Whatever is in the darkness, he will either scare away or kill because that’s what the Starks want of him, he’s sure. His hand hovers over the gun at his waist and he walks to the spot he thought he saw something move. There’s nothing there now except sand and stone and CC looks down at it. There are small impressions in the sand that lead away in a dotted pattern. He thinks they are footprints, so he turns and starts to follow them. It doesn’t take long to get to the end of the line and CC frowns because the footprints stop at a sharp incline in the sand. CC leans forward to look down the incline. It may have been a river or a gorge once. There are pieces of deadwood at the bottom and cracks in the sand like it used to have water resting atop it at one time. Large stones litter it and CC doesn’t think that whatever was out in the darkness went that way, even if the footsteps would make him believe it. He straightens his back and turns around to head back to the Starks. He doesn’t expect the freak to be standing behind him. It’s a little thing, looking more like it had been a child once than a man. It stands on all fours, with its elbows and knees bent the opposite way they are supposed to. It’s skin is brown and shriveled, it’s head twisted to the side and its teeth jagged and wide. It’s back on its haunches and it leaps at him as soon as he’s turned. It’s a tactical move he hadn’t expected from one of the freaks. It collides with his shoulders and knocks him backwards. He holds up a hand and draws his gun, but the freak’s jagged teeth sink into his arm, preventing him from knocking it away from him. They tumble backwards, down the incline. CC grunts as they roll and the gun goes off about halfway down the hill. He wonders if Frankie will count this as wandering away and if he’ll listen to CC’s reasoning for doing so. He doubts it and he fully expects Frankie to shoot him. Maybe not in the head like he said, but at least shoot him. They land hard at the bottom of the ravine. CC’s head cracks into a stone and for a moment, he lays there dazed. The freak tears away from him, leaving a burning, flaring pain in his arm. He can feel blood dripping down his skin and he pushes himself up, sitting in the dirty as he tries to look at his arm. The moon is bright overhead, and even in the darkness, he can see the dark stains of blood and the freak’s blood on his arm. Looking up, he tries to see where the freak went off to. He sees it scurrying along the side of the ravine and he frowns because it’s headed back to the Starks and that was his whole point for coming out here. Lifting the gun, he aims at it and fires. The shot echoes loud in the darkness and he thinks he can hear shouting coming from somewhere and it sounds like Frankie. His shot hits the freak in the back of the head and suddenly it’s not scurrying anymore. It tumbles down the ravine, loose and limp and when it hits the bottom, it lies still and doesn’t get up again. CC sits there for a moment staring at it in the dark. He looks back down at his injured arm and frowns at it before he sets the gun in his lap and lifts his hand to touch the bloody lump on his head. He doesn’t understand how it had been an instinctual reaction in the jailhouse to kill the freak and out here it had gotten the drop on him. He thinks Frankie will be mad. .Wolfie. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Frankie yells. He’s mad and it’s almost comical the way his face is turning red as he stomps around the sand. He waves his gun in the air but he’s not pointing it at CC, he’s just gesturing it around his head. “Christ son, I told you to watch my back, not go charging off into the desert freak hunting. You know what watching my back means? It means you see a God damned freak you wake my ass up so I can shoot it and you can stand behind me in case it tries to get the drop on me.”Evan rolls her eyes and stays where she is. CC isn’t looking at her, he’s watching Frankie and he doesn’t even flinch as Adrian pours water over his arm and washes the blood off his skin. She’s sitting on the jeep, her brother’s rifle in her hands as she scans the surrounding area for any more freaks but she’s not seeing much with how dark it is. “It seemed the most logical course of action,” CC says. His eyes follow the gun in Frankie’s hand like he expects it to be pointed at him. “I assumed I was following your directive to watch your back by handling the genetic anomaly and allowing your family to rest.” Frankie curses and whirls on him to gesture angrily. “Well don’t fucking do it again,” he snaps. “You’re lucky you ain’t dead.” Adrian snorts and Evan glances over at him. He’s got his fingers around CC’s wrist to hold his arm while he cleans the blood away. CC doesn’t show any sign that it hurts, and he doesn’t mention the nasty knot on the back of his head either. She can’t help the small spark of fear at the gashes on his arm or Adrian being that close to them because there’s black mixing with the red dripping to the ground but it shouldn’t bother her because he’s already infected. That’s why he’s the one over there and she’s the one with his gun in her hands. “Wow Frankie,” Adrian says, looking up at his older brother. “You’re so cute when you’re worried.” “Go fuck yourself freak,” Frankie tells him with a sneer. He’s kicking sand over the fire and then he turns and starts to gather their things together without another word. Evan snorts and chuckles at her brother because that’s exactly why he’s pissed off and she never thought she’d see the day that Francis James got worried about someone whose last name wasn’t Stark. “You killed it by yourself?” Nicky asks. He’s working on rolling up his bedroll but his eyes are focused on CC and he’s grinning. “Did you go all sleeper assassin on it? Were you just like bam! Headshot?” CC glances over at him and he blinks curiously at him. “It was my assumption that shooting it through the head would be the quickest and most efficient way to kill it,” he says. Frankie snorts and tries not to laugh but Evan doesn’t stop herself. She runs a hand over her face and then ducks her head back to the scope. She doesn’t see anything else but she looks anyway. “It was a conscious decision, however, not an instinctual reaction as occurred in the jail cell. I am not sure what the difference in circumstance was.” “Maybe the difference is that you went hunting it,” Adrian says dryly. He pulls the first aid kit over to him and starts slapping gauze on CC’s wound. He rips the tape off with his teeth and uses it to tamp the gauze down. There’s blood on his fingers and some of its black. Evan shivers when she sees it and she hopes it doesn’t make her brother worse. “That is entirely possible,” CC admits. He looks back at Adrian and he tips his head curiously to the side as he finishes bandaging up his wound. He uses the last of the water in the bottle to wash his hands off and then he wipes them clean with a towel. “I don’t fucking care,” Frankie spits. He is working on throwing the rest of their shit in the back of the jeep and then he pounds his hand on the roof. “Let’s go,” he snaps. “If there’s freaks out here then we ain’t fucking staying here.” He is tense as he stalks over and grabs the bedrolls from Nicky’s fingers and throws them in with the rest. Evan snorts as she watches him and then she starts to laugh. Frankie shoots her a glare and shoves at her legs as he walks past her towards the driver’s side door. “Well look at you,” she teases. “All up at arms ‘cause someone messed with your new puppy dog.” Frankie snarls and flips her off before he climbs into the jeep and slams the door behind him. She pounds a fist on the roof and leans down to yell through the window at him, a toothy grin on her face. “Hey, you should be happy. At least he’s got teeth.” Nicky laughs like she’s said something funnier than she has before he climbs in the back. Evan hops down off the jeep but she keeps the gun in her hands as she waits for CC and Adrian. She’s looking out over the desert but she doesn’t see anything but shadows. “Why are you so happy?” Adrian asks. “You hate being woken up early.” Evan laughs again, turning her head to look at her brother. He’s got a hand on CC’s shoulder and the laughter falters because she can’t tell if it’s a friendly gesture or because her brother needs the help standing upright. He’s not shaking and he’s got the first aid kit thrown over his shoulder but she’s not sure that means anything. “Because,” she says, grinning broadly at him. “Puppy killed a freak all by himself and managed to piss Frankie off at the same time. That’s worth the price of admission.” Adrian rolls his eyes but he’s smiling at Evan as he pulls open the back door and lets CC in, tossing the first aid kit into the back before he follows. “Your thought process is interesting to me,” CC says. Evan snorts but she’s still smiling as she rests the gun against her shoulder and climbs into the passenger seat. She keeps it cradled in her arms as she listens to the engine roar to life and watches twin pool of lights appear in front of the jeep. She doesn’t see anymore freaks but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more out there. Frankie is quiet for a long time as he turns the jeep to follow along the washed out riverbed. Evan kicks back in her seat and watches out the right where the desert stretches dark and empty except for the light from the stars. She doesn’t miss that about the city. The thought strikes her and it’s abrupt and painful and she almost flinches with how quickly it comes. She thinks about sneaking outside the bounds of the city one of the last nights she was there with a flask full of whiskey and a box of cigars. She remembers sitting on the hood of the stolen van with Saul next to her and the light on his face as he looks up at the sky. They were supposed to have names, but neither of them could remember what they were so they just started making up their own names. She can see one of them now and it’s the one he named for himself. She watches it until it starts to dim with the rising sun and she wonders if he’s still alive. She wonders if she’ll ever get to see him again and that’s always when she shuts the thoughts off and lets them die. There are a thousand things that could have happened to him and most of them aren’t good. “Wake the fuck up,” Frankie says. The words startle her and she doesn’t mean for them to but she realizes when he speaks that she was starting to drift off. She turns her head to the side to look at Frankie and he still looks grumpy. It almost makes her laugh. She looks over her shoulder and Nicky’s sleeping against the window. His mouth is open and she can hear his quiet snoring, his gun cradled in his arms like a teddy bear. CC sits in the middle, his hands resting in his lap and the gun Frankie gave him still in its holster at his side. Adrian sits next to him, his head resting against the window and his feet stretched out in front of him the best that he can manage in the cramped space. He’s pale but he’s not shaking and her gaze lingers on him the longest. He just looks tired now but he blinks and looks up at Frankie when he speaks. He reaches over to slap Nicky in the chest and he jerks awake. “There’s a road ahead, keep your eyes peeled,” Frankie snaps. “A road?” Nicky says. He blinks, looking out the window and watching the sun start to rise over the sands. He grins and sits up in his seat and then he looks ahead of them at the ragged dirt track they’re following. The only sign it’s a road is the jagged bits of metal sticking out on either side of the jeep. Evan frowns and she doesn’t like the look of it. “What kind of road? Like a city road or a bandit road or like a town road or…” he drawls off and swallows hard. “A freak road?” “Probably freak,” Evan says. She turns around in her seat to pass the rifle back to her brother because he’s a better shot than her and he needs it more anyway. She pulls her guns out of their holsters and shifts back in her seat as they drive through. Frankie jams on the breaks and she snarls out a curse when he does, but this time she’s got her boot braced against the dashboard and it doesn’t send her flying. Nicky does. His forehead slams into the back of their brother’s seat and he lets out a cry as he slumps back afterwards. Adrian’s got one hand around his rifle and the other braces against the chair to catch himself. “You have something against stopping without causing someone brain damage?” Evan asks with a dry sneer. “Shut your fucking mouth,” Frankie says. He looks over his shoulder, resting his arm on the back of the seat as he shifts the jeep into reverse. “You’re right, this is a damned freak road and we’re getting the fuck out of here now.” Evan looks ahead of them and she feels her heart sink when she sees what her brother did. Farther on up the road she can see something else mixed in with the jagged bits of metal. They are sun bleached bones and metal stained red and she feels a chill run down her spine. She doesn’t know where they’re headed but it can’t be any place good and suddenly she agrees with Frankie when he says they need to get the fuck out of here now. Another shout leaves Nicky’s throat as suddenly the jeep bounces underneath them. There’s a loud pop and the vehicle fishtails violently, the back of it jarring against the dirt. Evan reaches forward and grasps the dashboard as the jeep shudders and rolls to a stop and she can see Frankie’s knuckles turning white around the steering wheel. He doesn’t try and hold back his anger. “Motherfucker,” he snarls, because their back tires just popped. Wenston “God damn it!” Frankie yells and he kicks at the tire violently. “God fucking damn it!” They’ve piled out of the jeep. Adrian leans against the side while Frankie and Evan are inspecting the back tires. Nicky and Evan stand off to the side and from where CC stands, he can see that the tires are not salvageable. They have not only popped, but have been shredded. The Starks are lucky that the blow outs didn’t ruin the axels and he opens his mouth to tell them just that, but Frankie doesn’t give him a chance. “This is fucking bullshit, I told that fucker Harvey not to piss off the Man, didn’t I?” he yells, pounding his fist against the jeep as he walks back around to the driver side door and pulls it open, yanking the keys out and closing it, locking up but CC doubts it will do much good. If anyone wanted to get inside the jeep, they merely have to cut through the canvas on the back. CC tips his head curiously. “You are suggesting God is somehow involved in this misfortune,” he observes. Frankie looks over at him and narrows his eyes. CC thinks he is still angry about earlier, but the man hasn’t pointed a gun at him or told him he wanted to kill him and according to the others, that anger was Frankie being worried and CC feels something deep in his chest at the thought that the man was worried about him, of all things. The man points a finger at CC’s face. “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting, Carl,” he snaps and pulls a couple extra guns from the back of the jeep, shoving one at Evan and one at Adrian. “Exactly,” he repeats. “And this isn’t misfortune, this is sabotage. The Man’s sabotage.” “I do not understand what God is sabotaging,” CC says. “Us,” Frankie says simply and then starts walking off down the road. CC watches him go for a moment before he looks curiously at Adrian and Evan, who are watching Frankie march off. Evan finally sighs and holds her hand out to Adrian. The man gives a small laugh and takes her hand, letting her help him up before they start heading off after their brother. Evan wraps an arm around Nicky’s shoulder and guides him up between them and Frankie so she can keep an eye on him. “You have a plan, Frankie?” Adrian calls. “Or are we just walking until God puts new tires in front of us?” “Do not worry then, saying ‘what will we eat?’ or ‘what will we drink’ or ‘what will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things,” Frankie responds. CC’s head perks up as he follows behind them all. “That is Matthew 6:31 – 32,” he says. Frankie pauses to look over his shoulder at him. “I thought you were only on Ecclesiastes,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “I found it necessary to skip ahead,” CC tells him. Frankie snorts and then waves CC forward. “Get up here, Carl. You’re supposed to be watching my back and I need to make sure you don’t fucking wander off again and get your face chewed on next time.” CC quirks his head to the side, but trots up pass the others to go stand next to Frankie. He watches the man for a moment before he says, “I find it interesting that you have shifted from not wanting me to wander off because I may run away to not wandering off for fear I may sustain injury,” he tells him. Behind them, Evan starts laughing again and CC glances back at her because it wasn’t that long ago she was barely smiling. He notices Frankie has his eyes narrowed at him again and the man points a finger at him. “You want me to start threatening your life again?” he asks and CC thinks he is joking and maybe there is a smirk on his face but he isn’t sure. “I would not prefer it, no,” CC says simply and that cracks Adrian up. Frankie’s smirk grows and he nods. “Then don’t fucking say stuff like that,” he says and turns to look ahead of them again. They are coming up on the pile of bones lying on the side of the road and their laughter dies off rather quickly. CC glances at the bones and the blood and he concludes it has been there for at least a few days. He lifts his head to look ahead of them and wonders what is out there and where the body came from. “So we’re just going to walk right into the freaks, huh?” Evan asks, her tone bitter and unamused. “No,” Frankie says. “We’re going to find that poor unlucky soul’s vehicle. And hope that we run into it before we run into the freaks.” “Your plan is based heavily on guesswork and speculation,” CC says and by the look Frankie gives him afterwards, he’s fairly certain the man already knew that. They walk a bit further before CC glances down at his arm. The gauze is bright on his skin and there are splotches of blood starting to soak through, but he doesn’t think it is bleeding heavily anymore. He reaches his other hand over to squeeze at the wound and test the skin around it and it hurts and pounds along with his heartbeat, but it should heal. It may leave a scar, but CC is used to scars. He has so many of them. “That hurt?” Frankie asks and CC glances over at him. He’s not looking at CC, his eyes straight ahead and CC doesn’t point out that Frankie’s trying for a nonchalant tone, but it’s obviously just to conceal worry. He doesn’t think Frankie would appreciate him pointing that out. “You’re immune to the freaks, so you’re not gonna turn into one of them or anything, are you?” “No,” CC says, shaking his head. “If anything I will become nauseous and dizzy, but it will only last for a few hours at most,” he says calmly and it draws Frankie’s attention to him. CC looks out across the desert. “I have been exposed to much higher doses of the infected cells before, you do not have to worry.” Nicky comes up to walk between them and Frankie gives him a nudge so he’s walking a little bit behind the two, but Nicky comes right back up. “I think you should teach me how to shoot, Frankenstein,” he says. “Shut the fuck up, Nicky,” Evan spits from behind them. Frankie starts laughing. Nicky turns around to look at her, glaring. “What?” he demands. “None of you will, and what if one day you guys need me? I might shoot you by accident.” Adrian chuckles a little. “He has a point there.” “You’re not helping,” Evan tells him, her voice quieter. CC turns to look at Nicky. “I am unsure I would be able to instruct you,” he tells him honestly. “My technique is merely to point and shoot but I do not think that is the appropriate way.” The others are quiet for a moment before Frankie starts laughing. “There’s no other way, Carl,” he says, waggling his eyebrows at him. CC frowns and thinks Frankie is lying. .Wolfie. There is sweat rolling down the back of Evan’s neck because the sun’s rising quickly in the sky and she can feel the heat beating down on them. She pulls the goggles down over her face to hide her eyes but she doesn’t put the mask on yet because there’s not a lot of wind and she’s sweating enough already. She’s got the sawed off slung over one shoulder and her other hand resting on the handgun at her side. The farther they walk the more nervous she’s getting but she keeps her mouth shut so she doesn’t scare Nicky.The road is more pronounced and twice now they’ve had to step over spike strips hidden in the sand. They’re facing the direction they’re walking, so if some dumb asshole tries to back down the road they’ll shred their fucking tires. Evan would laugh if she wasn’t pissed and Frankie spits on the jagged bits of metal as they pass by. The road is lined with car bumpers and other bits lodged into the sand to mark the way. It sends chills down her spine when they pass a twisted streetlight with bones hanging off the sides of it like wind chimes. “How much farther is it?” Nicky demands. He’s twirling his gun in his hand as he walks behind Frankie and he just looks bored. “You seen any cars yet?” Frankie demands. “Any tires just waiting in the sand for us?” He looks over his shoulder at his youngest brother and his eyes are narrowed and annoyed. Evan snorts and bites back a smile when she sees the look on his face, turning to watch the desert instead. It stretches out to her right in an endless wave of dirt and rocks, ripples of heat starting to rise from the ground. Much longer and they’re going to be passing out from heatstroke. If she looks over her shoulder she can see the jeep sitting in the distance and she doesn’t like how much farther it keeps getting away from them. “No,” Nicky tells him, and then he gives him a cocky head tilt. “But I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking.” Adrian snorts out a laugh at that and then he reaches forward to slap his kid brother upside the back of the head. He has his rifle slung over his shoulders and he’s doing alright so far. He’s pale and he’s weak but he’s walking without any help and he isn’t spitting black stuff into the dirt. It’s a small favor but Evan’s grateful for it anyway, even if she’s not going to say any thanks to God for it. “No of course not, ‘cause I’m out here for my health,” Frankie snaps at him. He snorts and then spits off into the dirt. Ahead of them the road is starting to slope down, turning slowly to the left to meet up with the ravine they’d been following all night. CC looks at him curiously and Evan watches his face because there’s something like an expression there. It’s not much, but it’s more than he was giving a few days ago. Then all he had was blank and blanker and she wonders if he’s coming down off his drugs or something. “That is sarcasm, correct?” he says. “Your words convey one meaning while your tone implies the opposite.” Frankie snorts and slings an arm around CC’s shoulders. “That ain’t sarcasm,” he says. “I’m fucking ecstatic to be woken up in the middle of the night because a freak got near our camp and you fucking decided to chase it all over creation and then have the rear wheels of my fucking jeep blow up underneath me and then spend the next two hours wandering around the desert waiting for God to get tired of fucking with me and throw me a bone. You can’t tell how god damned happy I am about all that?” CC frowns and looks over his shoulder at the other Starks. Adrian snorts behind Evan and she feels him rest his forearm on her shoulder. “Yeah,” Adrian says before the man can ask. “That was sarcasm too.” “No shit,” Frankie says. He looks back ahead of them and then he pauses because the road is dipping abruptly in front of him. A laugh escapes his lips and Evan moves next to him to see what he’s looking at. He grins as he crosses his arms over his chest but he pauses to slap CC with the back of one hand. “Now look at that,” he says. “Ask and ye shall receive.” “John 16:24,” CC supplies. “Fucking great,” Evan says, glancing back at Adrian. “I hope you’re happy, we’ve got two of them now.” Her brother chuckles as he moves to stand next to her and for a moment the five of them stare down the hill at what Frankie’s found. The road slopes downwards to meet the rocky ravine and it’s filled to the brim with cars and jeeps and city vehicles. All of them are abandoned and bloodstained, some half buried by the desert. Half the tires are shredded just like the jeep was and Evan feels her heart start to race in her chest because there’s not a doubt in her mind this is the work of freaks. She doesn’t see any but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. “Alright,” Frankie says, his eyes sweeping the maze of twisted metal frames and broken vehicles. “Adrian, you sit your ass down right over there and keep your eye to that rifle of yours. You see anything moving you fucking shoot it.” He reaches out to grasp Adrian’s elbow and he guides him outside the road lined with twisted metal to sit him down on the edge of the hill. He pauses and frowns down at his brother, pointing a finger at him. “Unless it’s me. You better not fucking shoot me.” “I don’t know, accidents happen.” Adrian smirks but Evan doesn’t buy it because she knows he hates being relegated to this role all the time. He can’t be trusted to stand on his own and if it hurts her she can be damn sure it hurts him more. “I find it doubtful you will make a mistake regarding who you are firing at. From what I have seen you are an excellent shot and it is likely that should you shoot sugar plum, it will be on purpose,” CC says. “Though it is doubtful you would do so.” His gaze is roaming the abandoned vehicles and Evan knows he’s not kidding but she laughs anyway. Frankie looks back at him and then he snorts, slinging his arm back around his shoulder. “Yeah, well let’s hope so, Carl. Come on, let’s find us a couple of tires. Nicky,” he snaps, looking over his shoulder. Their youngest brother is standing at the edge of the road, looking up at a sign that used to have a man crossing a street and has been spray painted so now it has a man sodomizing another one. Nicky blinks and looks over at his brother, grinning and twirling his gun. “You stick close to Evan.” Nicky makes a face at his brother. “I can take care of myself,” he says. Frankie just laughs. Frankie starts to head downwards but Evan walks over to Adrian before she goes, crouching down in front of him. “Watch my back,” she says, smiling at him. He returns it but she can tell he’s faking it and he looks down at his gun as he pulls it into his lap. “I always do, Ev,” he tells her. He smirks and looks through the sight after their brother. He lingers on him for a moment before he sweeps the rest of the junkyard, looking for any sign of movement in the darkened shadows. “You better get down there before Frankie’s God decides to screw with him anymore. You know, since he’s out to sabotage him at all.” Evan laughs and kisses the top of his head before she turns and starts to follow Frankie down the hill. Nicky didn’t wait for her, skidding and slipping after his eldest brother. In the back of her mind Evan’s hoping that maybe it’s just bandits. Maybe this is just where they hide the vehicles they’ve hijacked after they’re done with them but she knows she doesn’t really believe that. There’s too much blood everywhere, and even bandits don’t feel the need to hang up the bones of their victims. That’s something reserved especially for the freaks, at least the smarter ones. Those are the ones that really scare her. The ones that remember. If they don’t get back to the city on time she thinks that’s the kind Adrian’s going to be. The kind that remembers just enough about what it was to be human that it manages to pervert all those memories into something nasty and brutal. They don’t talk about it but she thinks she’d rather put a bullet in her brother’s head before she allows him to become that. It’s what he’d want and she knows that without ever having to ask him. It’s the same thing she would want if she were in his shoes. “This vehicle is in better physical condition than your jeep,” CC says ahead of her. She glances over and he’s ducking his head to look inside the open driver’s side door of a city transport truck. Frankie is standing near the rear of the vehicle, kicking at the tire as he tries to guess whether or not it’s the same size or not. “Perhaps you should just confiscate this or another automotive instead.” “No,” Frankie snaps. He doesn’t hesitate and he doesn’t explain but he curses when he steps on the tire and it sinks under the weight of his boot. “Fucking thing is flat too. God damn, tell me one of these things is salvageable.” “It is likely your jeep will suffer further mechanical failures in the future,” CC starts to say. Frankie doesn’t let him finish. “I said no,” he snaps. CC closes his mouth and Evan glances at him. He is watching Frankie but his face is back to being shuttered and unemotional. It almost makes her feel bad but then Frank’s turning around and grinning at the man. “Everything breaks down out here Carl. At least I know how to fix the fucking jeep.” CC nods his head and then he turns to point at a truck hidden behind a pile of abandoned motorcycles. “I believe that vehicle is similar enough in make and model that it’s tires should provide a suitable substitute,” he says. Frankie looks at him for a moment and then he turns to look at Nicky. His kid brother has his head half hidden inside a battered, rusted old car as he tries to pull the bobble head doll off the dashboard. He hits his head off the ceiling as Frankie puts his fingers in his mouth and blows, letting out a loud whistle. “Nicky,” he shouts. “Come on, come here boy.” He whistles again, patting his leg like a dog. He’s already starting to move across the sands towards the truck CC pointed out when they hear the gunshot. Evan’s head turns over her shoulder and it’s from Adrian on the top of the hill. His gun is pointed in the opposite direction but he looks down into the junkyard to get their attention. “We’ve got company,” he yells down. Evan’s first thought is that it’s freaks but her brother kills that thought with his next words. “We got city trucks headed this way.” Frankie sighs and tilts his head up towards heaven. “I’m getting real sick of your shit,” he says dryly. Wenston “How many are there?” Frankie demands as Adrian makes his way down into the junkyard. Adrian’s shaking a bit as he reaches them, but he leans against one of the wrecked vehicles and Evan scoots in next to him, offering support if he should need it. CC finds their dynamic interesting but he thinks they are sick of hearing him tell them that. “Two trucks,” Adrian says and pauses to cough and spit something black onto the sand beneath him. He sits back up and wipes the back of his hand across his mouth, holding it there for a moment and he looks as though he’s contemplating whether or not he’s done. He must decide he is because then his hand drops back to his side and he shakes his head. “One of them looks like the transport they used for CC.” Frankie snorts and looks over at him. CC gives him a cool look and doesn’t tell Frankie that he’d rather not go back in one of those transports. That would mean going back to the city and he’s grown rather fond of not being in the labs. Even if it seems more dangerous out here than it did there, he feels human out here. The Starks let him speak and express his opinion and that was something he was never allowed to do in the labs. It was forbidden and he thinks maybe he should find a way to thank the Starks for allowing him to speak freely. “Friends of yours?” Frankie snaps at him, but turns to lean around the vehicle they’re standing next to. He looks up at the top of the ravine where the city trucks have parked and CC stares at the back of his head for a moment. “My loyalty does not lie with the city,” he tells Frankie seriously. The man turns back around and chuckles a little at him. “Remember that discussion we just had about sarcasm?” he says and CC tips his head to the side, studying the man for a moment. Frankie shakes his head and waves his hand at him, turning back to look at the city guards piling out of the trucks. “What the fuck are they even doing here?” “Maybe they followed us,” Nicky says. He’s climbed up on one of the vehicles and is looking through the busted out window at the guards. Evan stalks over to him and fists her hand in the back of his shirt, yanking him down. He stumbles a little and Evan’s hand in his shirt is the only thing that keeps him off the ground. “Hey!” he says angrily, turning around to shove her hands away, but he doesn’t climb back up. Evan goes back to stand near Adrian, who coughs and says, “Maybe they’re looking for pars, same as us,” he suggests, but the tone of his voice signals he doesn’t believe that. “Sonofabitch,” Frankie says suddenly and CC tries to tip his head around the vehicle to see what has gotten Frankie upset. The man turns around, though, and shoves CC back behind the vehicle. He keeps a hand on his chest and the look on his face is incredulous. “Harvey Wellington the Third wasn’t fucking kidding about this guy. He’s a fucking headhunter alright,” he says. CC tips his head to the side curiously. “I assume you are referring to Captain Meridian,” he says calmly. “The one and only,” Frankie says, eyeing CC for a minute. “He’s standing right on the god damn ridge.” Evan and Adrian curse and they try to tilt their heads to catch a glimpse of the man. CC doesn’t try. He just keeps looking back at Frankie, their eyes meeting for a long moment. CC wonders what Frankie is thinking and he wonders if he’s regretting bringing CC along with him. CC wonders if he should feel guilty for bringing Captain Meridian down on the Starks. But a part of him is glad he’s with them. If he were out by himself, or still with that Damien who’d first stolen him from the city transport, he doesn’t think he’d have it quite as good. He’s come to appreciate and even like the Starks. He hates that Captain Meridian is here for him and that’s putting them in danger. “CC380296-B!” Captain Meridian’s booming voice echoes out over the ravine. CC sees Frankie’s face curl into a snarl and he finally looks away from CC as if he’s decided something. He leans up against the vehicle and pulls his gun out. CC pulls his own out as well and behind him, Evan and Adrian are finding positions for themselves. Adrian is trying to get a clear shot, but there is too much wreckage and parts in the way to hit Meridian. “I know you and the Starks are down there somewhere,” the man calls. “I am willing to make a deal with you. This is a gratitude I don’t afford to many of your kind. You come out now and turn yourself over to me, and I will allow the Starks to live.” Evan scoffs. “Asshole,” she spits into the sand. CC glances at Frankie, who snorts and a frown mars CC’s face. “That is a reasonable request for you,” he tells Frankie. The man turns to look at him with wide eyes and anger on his face. Behind him, he hears Adrian scoff. “CC, you’re not turning yourself in to him,” he says. “Fuckers like that don’t keep promises,” Frankie tells him. “You turn yourself in and he’ll kill us anyway. Let me do the thinking here, Carl,” he says, and waggles his eyebrows at him. CC ducks his head and then glances back up towards the edge of the ravine where Captain Meridian is standing. “We should just shoot him,” Nicky says. Evan reaches over and slaps his head. Nicky groans and rubs the spot she just hit as she spits out, “Shut up.” Captain Meridian is suddenly yelling again. “You think the Starks won’t turn on you the minute they get bored?” he yells. “Once they’ve got what they want out of you, they’ll turn their backs on you and leave you alone in the world. What will you have then? Who will you turn to then? Do you think there are still people out there who will accept you? People who want you back?” CC frowns and looks at Frankie. “Does he require a response?” he asks. Frankie snorts and shakes his head. “Don’t say a fucking word to him.” He turns to look at Adrian. “Get a fucking shot already.” “Don’t listen to him, CC,” Adrian tells him and CC glances back at him. The sick man gives him a weak smile and CC feels the corner of his lip twitch upwards in response. It makes Adrian’s smile grow wider, but the next words out of Captain Meridian’s mouth wipes the humor and smiles off all of their faces. The next words strike something painful and wicked in CC’s chest, catching his breath in his throat. “Do you think your wife is waiting for you?” For a moment, no one says or does anything. Frankie is the first one to move and he ducks his head before turning to look at CC, his eyes carefully lidded and calculating. CC doesn’t meet his gaze, or look at the others behind him. He stares at a spot on the ground and frowns deeply and it’s the most vivid expression he’s given in a long, long time. His chest hurts and there is something raw and untamed raging in his heart. Captain Meridian mercilessly continues with, “What about your son? Your daughter? You think they are all waiting for you to come home to them?” CC swallows and lifts his head to look at Frankie, who is watching him coolly. He glances back at Adrian and Evan and Nicky and they are all looking at him cautiously and he has to look away because he doesn’t know what they are expecting from him. At Captain Meridian’s next words, CC just feels cold and he can’t explain why. “There’s no one waiting but corpses. They’re all dead. I saw to it myself.” CC looks up at the ravine they’d come down and he knows the jeep waits just over the ridge, a few miles back. Captain Meridian’s voice lowers, but is still audible through the ravine. “You should have heard her scream.” CC draws in a breath and says calmly, “I would like him to stop.” .Wolfie. “Carl,” Frankie says quietly and dangerously. He crouches by the side of the jeep and he’s watching CC with narrowed eyes. Evan glances at him and she doesn’t like the tone of his voice. His finger is resting on the trigger of his gun and she can’t tell if he’s mad at CC or the men threatening him. “I thought we talked about this. I don’t like you keeping secrets from me son.”“I do not recall the woman or the children he is referring to,” CC says. His voice is quiet and calm but his eyes are focused on the dirt beneath his feet. He’s holding the gun Frankie gave him in one of his hands and his knuckles are turning white around the handle. Next to her Evan hears Adrian suck in a pained breath but he keeps his eye to the sight of his gun. He’s got it resting on the hood of the car they’re hiding behind and he’s shifting slightly to try and get a good shot. His hands are trembling but he tightens them around his weapon to try and steady them and he ducks his head to try and find Meridian in his sights. Frankie keeps watching CC for the moment and she hears Nicky snort after a moment. “So does that mean you have gotten laid?” “Shut the fuck up, Nicky,” Evan snarls, and Adrian glances back at her when he hears the ferocity of her tone. She doesn’t look at him. She keeps her eyes on the ridge and tries to watch for movement through the dirty window of the truck in front of them. She doesn’t need to explain herself to her brother or admit that she’s mad for CC just hearing those things. He’s got a dead wife and dead kids and she thinks it makes it worse that he doesn’t even remember who they are. She thinks that God isn’t in heaven waiting for them to show up and tell him their names, God’s in the people that remember them when they’re gone. Frankie’s still watching CC carefully like he’s trying to figure out if he’s telling him the truth. The man looks calmly back at him and Evan can’t help but wonder what’s going on in that head of his. Frankie looks like that’s all he’s trying to figure out. Then he snorts and grasps CC’s shoulder and it’s not a mean thing. It’s comforting, whether the man needs it or not and it surprises her. “Well, guess that answers that question, doesn’t it Carl?” he says quietly. “Looks like you used to have a life before they got their paws on you after all.” He snorts and then looks at his brother. “Adrian, you got a shot for me over there or not?” “There’s about a million fucking things in the way and the asshole’s standing behind the door, so why don’t you back the fuck off and just give me a minute?” he snaps back at Frankie. His voice is harsh and mean and Evan moves closer to him to help hold his hands steady. She doesn’t ask why he’s mad because it’s for CC’s sake and not his own. The look on her brother’s face says he feels a little bit guilty for thinks that aren’t his fault and it’s classic Adrian to think that way. He’s biting down on his lip as he tries to get a shot but she hears his quiet voice anyway. “Is it wrong to be grateful he’s here if the road that got him here is paved in blood?” “Don’t be so fucking melodramatic,” she tells him. He snorts in response and angles the gun down slightly, teeth tugging at his lower lip. She sees his eyes narrow and that’s the only sign that he’s got something before he pulls back on the trigger and the rifle goes off in his hands. The loud blast is followed shortly by a second one and she can hear yelling and cursing on top of the ridge. She opens her mouth to ask if he got anyone and then a different gun goes off and she hears Adrian shout in pain. He drops down behind the truck and he’s cursing as he slaps a hand against his shoulder. She can already see the blood seeping from between his fingers and she ducks down next to him because she can’t tell just where it’s coming from. “How bad?” Frankie demands, leaning over Evan and looking over the roof of the truck they’re hiding behind. Adrian licks his lips and lets Evan pull his hand away. She tugs his jacket back to reveal the fresh hole in his skin but it looks like it went straight through. It’s bleeding but the color isn’t the bright arterial red of a nicked artery and she shakes her head, reaching up to cup her brother’s face. “You need to stop getting shot in the fucking chest,” she tells him. “How bad?” Frankie demands again. “Can you move? Jesus Christ Nicky, get your fucking ass down.” His head turns as he speaks to see Nicky craning around the back of the truck and he reaches over to yank him behind the vehicle again. “Yeah,” Adrian says. He reaches up to grasp the edge of the hood and he spits out a curse when another bullet glances off the metal surface. “Fuck, yeah, I can move.” Evan grips him under the other shoulder to help him to his feet and he keeps one hand over the fresh wound and the other grasping his rifle. She knows it has to hurt but he’s gritting his teeth and ignoring it as they start to move. “I didn’t get anyone,” he tells Frankie, glancing over at his brother. “They’ve got fucking bulletproof glass on their trucks.” “God damn it,” Frankie mutters. He waits until Nicky goes to follow Evan and Adrian and then he grasps CC’s shoulder and guides him in front. Evan wonders if her brother even realizes how protective he’s being. He’s looking behind him with his gun in his hand and the look on his face says nothing good is going to happen to anyone that tries to come after them. “Your family is dead, CC380296-B,” Meridian calls down at them. His voice echoes off the vehicles and Evan sees CC flinch at the sound of it, even if he doesn’t turn around. “They’re dead because of you. Do you really want the same fate for the Starks?” For a moment he pauses but Frankie’s hand on his shoulder keeps driving him forward. “Keep moving son,” he tells him. “Are you going to kill him, Frankie?” Nicky asks. He’s following behind Evan and Adrian and he’s got his gun in his hand, probably just to make himself feel better. He looks a little nervous as he cranes his head over his shoulder, struggling to see anything and Evan doesn’t like him stretching his neck out like that. She reaches a hand back, grasping his hair to yank his head down. “That’s the plan,” their eldest brother says. They move quickly through the junkyard, trying to put distance and metal in between them and Meridian. Evan has to duck to get under something that resembles a radio tower and is not just another piece of scrap. Frankie pauses after he ducks underneath it, pushing CC to the side behind a broken down van. He crouches low and keeps his back against the engine as he looks around it, his face dark and serious as he waits for signs that Meridian or his men have followed them. Evan leans Adrian against the side of the vehicle and he’s sweating and biting his lip to keep from crying out but he doesn’t let go of his gun. She smirks when she sees that and he returns the grin, reaching up to pat the side of her head. “We’ve got three headed this way,” Frankie says quietly. He lifts his gun and looks over at Evan. “See if you can circle back behind them.” She nods her head and grasps Adrian’s shoulder firmly before she steps past him and moves towards the back of the van. “What should I do?” CC asks her brother quietly. She glances over her shoulder at him and he is holding the gun firmly in his hands, crouching next to Frankie as he waits for his orders. Her brother turns to look at him and a strange look passes over his face as he studies CC. She doesn’t know if he finds what he’s looking for but after a moment he smirks. “You remember what I told you when I asked you to kill William for me son?” Frankie asks. Evan’s eyes narrow because she remembers that moment and it made her hate her brother a little bit. This isn’t the same, but she wonders why he’s bringing it up. CC nods his head and his expression doesn’t change. To this day she wonders if he would have done what Frankie asked him and if he would have been okay with it. “You told me that looking a man in the eye while I kill him is the closest I will get to God without dying,” he answers. He repeats it word for word and Frankie chuckles afterwards, nodding his head in agreement. “Go with Evan,” Frankie tells him, turning his head to peer around the front of the van. “And don’t forget to tell them your name.” CC nods and then he turns to follow Evan. She watches Frank for a moment with narrowed eyes because she glances back at CC and quirks her mouth to the side. “Don’t fucking hesitate and don’t get me killed,” she tells him sharply. “I will endeavor not to do either of those things,” CC tells her, and she finds herself smirking because she believes it’s the truth. She doesn’t turn her back on him, not fully. She stays sideways as she crouches and moves around the front of the truck, stepping over twisted and abandoned chunks of metal and she can’t even tell where all of it is from. There’s the damaged remains of a motorcycle propped up against the gutted husk of a car and she tries not to make any noise as she crawls over it. She tries to keep one eye on the men Frankie was talking about and she’s not surprised when one of them gestures at his friend to tell him to go around his left. Evan glances at CC and she bites back a smile when she sees him trying to mimic her movements. She stays low to the ground as she presses her back against the car and she waits for the man to get closer. She hears Frankie’s gun go off first and as soon as the man turns around she lifts her gun and pushes herself from around the van, firing into the back of his chest. She’s not a good enough shot to go for the head but at this distance most of her bullets find their mark. The first man is already down, his blood seeping into the sand and his eyes wide and dead. The one Evan shot doesn’t even turn fully around before he’s gone, falling face first into the dirt. She can see the third man scrambling away but he’s got a hole in his thigh and she can hear him crying and cursing as he scrambles behind the wreckage of a van. She steps forward with her gun raised to try and get him before he gets away. Her finger is already tightening on the trigger when she hears it. It doesn’t sound like much. It’s just a clink and a quiet thump next to her but as soon as her eyes drop she knows what she’s looking at and she has enough time to feel fear and regret and wonder if there’s a God and if he knows her name. Then she feels CC’s hand grasping her arm and he’s trying to yank her back behind the van but it’s too late. The grenade goes off right next to her. The blast is loud and she can feel something in her right ear pop before there’s warm blood trickling down the side of her face. It hurts, but it’s nothing compared to the sudden, blinding pain as the blast strikes her right side. Then she feels something jagged cutting into her eye and she is screaming. Wenston For a moment, CC’s ears are ringing and that’s all he’s aware of. He’s laying on his back in the dirt and he has an arm around someone’s midsection, holding them close to him. He blinks away the grit and the spots and after the ringing dies down enough, he can hear ragged moans coming from Evan, who he realizes is the one on top of him. He sits up a little and his brow furrows because she’s bloody. She’s limp and bloody on top of him and he wasn’t fast enough to pull her fully away from the grenade. Blood covers one side of her face and her right eye is bleeding and cut. He doesn’t foresee her keeping it. “Evan!” he can hear Adrian’s voice screaming from somewhere around the other side of the wreckage and if he listens closely enough, he can hear a constant stream of curses coming from Frankie’s mouth. Gunshots are being fired all around them and he’s hearing something else too. Something wicked and moaning and awful and he thinks the freaks have decided to show up. They are highly outnumbered and he would have to suggest they leave now that Evan is wounded. Sitting up, he keeps his arm around Evan’s midsection and she groans at the movement. He slips himself from beneath her and lays her back down, gently and wary of her head. He pulls off his jacket and places it beneath her hair. Her skin is singed and bloody and cut up and she is in bad shape. Her other eye, the one still there, is wide and roaming and he doesn’t think she’s with him. “Evan, fucking Christ, answer me!” Adrian yells again. There is movement behind him and CC doesn’t hesitate. He can hear where Frankie and Adrian are and he assumes that Nicky is still with them and that means they are all not behind him. He turns, his gun in his hand and he fires without hesitation and without remorse. He strikes the three guards in the chest, all of them and they are dead before they hit the ground. Evan’s hand reaches up and grips CC’s forearm hard and he turns back to look down at her calmly. “Go,” she grits out. “We have to go,” she takes a shuddering breath and he’s unsure she’s really aware of what is going on around them. “Before they come…” There’s another metallic clink behind him and CC turns without pausing, his hand closing around the grenade. He picks it up and throws it as hard as he can in the direction of the city guards, then leans down and covers Evan’s head with his body. The grenade goes off and he can feel heat and sharp sting of shrapnel hit his back. But as soon as it stops, he hears the running, approaching feet and he lifts his head. Frankie, Adrian and Nicky are rounding the wreckage and as soon as their eyes land on Evan, they’re cursing. “Motherfucker,” Frankie snarls, dropping to his knees beside them. “Evangeline,” he says, reaching forward and gripping her chin, tipping her head to try and get her to look at him. Adrian drops to the ground by her head and reaches out to take her hand. “Ev,” he whispers, his eyes wide and skin pale and CC doesn’t think it is from the sickness. Behind him, Nicky is crouching with his hands over his mouth, his eyes filling with water as he watches. Evan coughs and her hand squeezes her brothers, but she doesn’t say anything, just closes her one good eye and lets out a whimper. It’s enough to make Frankie’s face curl into a snarl and Adrian to reach up his other hand and hold hers with both of his, bringing her fingers to his lips. “I warned you!” Captain Meridian yells. “I will kill them all!” At the words, Adrian looks up from his injured sister and their eyes meet for a fraction of a second before something in CC snaps. He’s not sure what it is and he’s pretty sure it doesn’t show on his face, but he’s suddenly reaching forward for Evan’s gun and then he’s standing and leaping up onto the hood of the scrapped vehicle next to them. “Jesus, Carl, get the fuck back here,” Frankie growls at him. “I will be right back,” CC tells him and he aims his gun at the first city guard he can see. He’s moving on instinct and reaction after that. After the first shot, he just doesn’t stop. He’s aware of the Starks behind him and he’s aware of the freaks crawling out of the scrap metal and he’s aware of the city guards scrambling to handle them. He doesn’t like that Evan is hurt and he doesn’t like that Captain Meridian has threatened them because he thinks they are his friends. He’s unsure if they return the sentiment or if he even knows what a friend is, but that’s what he thinks now and until they tell him otherwise, it’s what he’s going to think. Moving swiftly, CC leaps over scrap metal, firing his gun at anything whose last name isn’t Stark. There’s a city guard running from a freak down an isle in the scrap metal and CC shoots the freak before he leaps at the city guard. The man has a moment of relief when he sees the dead freak behind him, but it’s short lived as CC twists his body so his ankles wrap around the man’s neck and then he’s twirling him to the ground. Once he’s there, CC jerks his knees and feels the man’s neck snap beneath the motion. It’s quick and painless and CC is up and moving before the man’s eyes even fade. CC spots Captain Meridian fighting a freak on the other side of the junkyard. He makes his way to him and by now, the freaks and the city guards have started to dwindle each others’ numbers down. The freak Meridian is fighting large and bulky. It’s stomach is engorged and it moves slow, but deflects nearly everything the captain is throwing at it. Meridian is holding his own ground for the moment and CC rushes towards the both of them because Meridian right now is the biggest threat to the Starks and that means he needs to be taken out. The freak turns the tables rather quickly. Something black snakes out of the freak’s mouth, lashing out and wrapping around Meridian’s head like a coiling whip. Meridian’s eyes are wide, but the black tongue is covering his mouth and his nose and CC knows the man is about to die, but it doesn’t stop him from shooting the freak three times in the head. Three times, because the first two shots don’t take it down. When it falls, it takes Meridian down with it and the man is pulling desperately at the black tongue wrapped around his face. CC walks smoothly over to the man and Meridian’s eyes look up at him, wild and panicked. CC just looks calmly down at him and holds his gun out over Meridian’s head. “I would prefer if you did not threaten the Starks,” he says calmly. Meridian’s eyes widen for a moment and CC almost pulls the trigger when another gunshot echoes out and CC jerks at a sudden pain in his shoulder. He whirls and there’s a city guard standing behind him. He brings the gun around and fires back at the man. He falls and CC whirls back towards Meridian, pointing the gun down at him and pulling the trigger. The gun clicks empty and Meridian’s eyes are rolling back in his head at the lack of oxygen. The freak’s black blood is seeping into his skin and he’s shaking with the exertion of it all. He’s as good as dead and CC puts his gun into its holster. He leans down and pulls Meridian’s notebook from his pocket, putting it in his own before he stands back up and gives Meridian a nod. “Tell God that CC sent you,” he says. “And make sure he knows the name Francis James Stark as well.” Then he turns around and heads back towards the Starks. .Wolfie. Mom used to sing whenever one of her kids got hurt. It was always the same song, the same one that Evan hummed to Adrian when he was shaking and dying in her arms. The song plays in her head now and Evan can swear she hears her mother’s voice breathing the words over her forehead. Her eyes are open and all she can see above her is blue, cloudless skies and a bright sun beating down on her. She only sees it out of one eye and she doesn’t process yet why that is. She must have gotten blood in her eye.“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” The words whisper in one ear and it doesn’t sink in that she’s the one singing them. Strong arms cradle her and she knows she’s moving but she can’t really tell why yet. She’s watching the blue skies over her head and she sees a crow flitting across its surface before dropping to the ground. She wonders what it’s feeding on. “Open the fucking door Nicky,” Frankie snarls. She doesn’t know why he’s so angry because not a lot gets under his skin. She can hear his voice over her head but it’s muffled and she’s having a hard time understanding what’s going on around her. There’s a clang of metal as a door swings open and then she’s being jostled in Frankie’s arm. She blinks and whimpers when it hurts and she doesn’t understand why she’s being carried. She can’t really remember where she is only that it’s bright and beautiful and mom is singing to her. It doesn’t sink in yet that mom’s dead and the only one singing is her. She feels arms wrap around her shoulders and Adrian’s tugging her against his chest. One hand presses against the side of her head to hold her there and she grasps his shirt compulsively. She can feel warm, wet blood running down the side of her face and it stings when her brother tries to wipe it off. “What the fuck did I tell you Carl? What the fuck did I tell you about going off by yourself?” There’s the slam of a door and Frankie’s muffled voice coming from somewhere in front of her. She thinks she hears Nicky whimpering and then she feels his hands, free of calluses and scars, grasping at hers. She tries to squeeze it because the kid sounds scared and she needs to take care of her little brother. It doesn’t matter. Her fingers barely want to obey her and she doesn’t understand that. There’s numbness on one side of her and it’s starting to fade. When it does she becomes aware of pain lancing through her head and most of it is centered on her right eye. She tries to blink the blood away and she lets out a pained cry when the lid scrapes over flesh. “You said you would shoot me in the head,” CC says calmly. She’s not sure where he is because she doesn’t know where she is, but she hears his voice and it doesn’t sound strained and that makes her feel better somehow. “You said you would put the fear of dying in me and the fear of God and when you are done with me he will not recognize me at the pearly gates.” Frankie is quiet for a moment. She hears the revving of an engine but it doesn’t sound like the jeep. “That’s right,” he growls. “I know you are a man of your word,” CC says, but no one answers that. Whatever they’re in jostles her as Frankie drives and she clings to Adrian as the pain starts to thrum through her skin. It stings and bleeds and she hears a whimper escape her throat as every movement sends agony lancing through the right side of her face. “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” She hums quietly along with mom as she sings to her and in her head she imagines the rain falling against the window while she lies in bed next to her. She had a nightmare. She can’t remember what it was about because she’s just a kid but she ran to her mother so that she could smile and tell her it was just a dream. She remembers her voice singing to her and she lets her eyes close as the words breathe out between her lips. “Fuck, how’s she doing back there?” Frankie demands. She hears his voice but it’s distant and far away and she doesn’t know who he’s talking about. Her mind is swimming and a part of her thinks she really is home again. She forgets that her mother’s dead and has been for a while and she forgets that this time the nightmare is real and she’s not going to wake up from it. Adrian lets out a choked noise and she doesn’t understand that. When he speaks he is sad and scared and she doesn’t want her brother to be either of those things. “Not good,” he tells Frankie, and she can hear her brother cursing and spitting at the answer. Whatever he’s driving grinds to a stop and then she hears doors slamming again. “CC,” he snarls. “You keep your ass in that seat and see if you can get me that fucking GPS without this one getting banged up too.” He barks out orders and she doesn’t understand why he’s so angry. She hears shifting metal and then light is beaming down on her face again. She turns to look and she has to move her whole head because she can’t get her right eye to open. Frankie’s standing in the open doors, his face smeared with sand and gunpowder and then he jerks his head at Adrian. “Come on,” he snaps. “Help me get the wheels off this thing.” “I’m not leaving her,” Adrian says. Evan wonders who he’s talking about because she’s fine. She’s just tired and hurt but she can take care of herself. She doesn’t need a babysitter. She’s the best gun Frankie’s got and she was even before Adrian got sick. She feels her brother’s fingers tighten around her shoulder and she whimpers because there are stinging cuts on her right side. Frankie’s face contorts in anger and then he’s stepping inside the back of the van. She realizes it’s a van, but she can’t remember where it came from or why they’re in it. Then she sees the jeep behind him and she can see the tires are shredded. Something like fear rises in her at that. Her fractured memory starts to come together and a whimper escapes her throat. “Nicky, come with me,” Frankie orders sharply. She feels Frankie lift her out of Adrian’s arms and cradle her in his and the sensation is familiar. She realizes it was her brother carrying her before and she doesn’t know why Frankie has to carry her. Her hands come up to push him away because she’s not a fucking cripple and she can walk and instead they just grip his shirt and then stay there. He glances down and she doesn’t recognize the look in his eyes. “How you doing Evangeline?” he asks. Evan looks up at him and there’s a break in her vision that wasn’t there before. She keeps trying to open her right eye but it just hurts so fucking bad and she can feel blood on her cheek. There’s a hard knot of fear settling in her chest and making her stomach churn and she tries to swallow it down. “Did I get hurt?” she says. The words come out a harsh whimper and she doesn’t recognize her voice. Frankie’s face contorts into something pained and then it’s gone. He replaces it with a laugh as he carries her back to their jeep. “You just got a little banged up is all,” Frankie tells her. “You ain’t going to be passing on my name any time soon.” Evan leans harder against her brother’s chest. “Wouldn’t tell the Man your name anyway.” Frankie laughs again but it sounds harsh and forced. There’s the sound of a door opening and then familiar smells hit her senses. It smells of smoke and dirt and home. They’re back at the jeep and she can feel him settling her down across the backseat. It jars her elbow and she lets out a pained grown that immediately has her brother pausing. He shifts her carefully and gently and she’s not used to this much caring from Frankie. He gets something behind her head and she feels his lips brush over her forehead before he’s standing up and leaving her there. She can’t see where he goes but she can see out the windshield and the blue skies outside. Her hands rest next to her face and when she manages to focus on them she can see the skin is burned and slice and she wonders just how bad she is. She hears Frankie let out a growl and when she tries to look over he’s got a fist curled in Adrian’s shirt. Her brother looks pained and scared as he watches her. “Jesus Adrian, don’t go near her again until you close up that hole in your shoulder. You want to get her infected too?” “I have the GPS you require,” CC says. Everything is coming from far away and she wants to reach up and try and clear the dirt from her ear but her hands don’t want to listen. Her eyes drift shut and she can hear her mother singing to her in the back of her head. “Good,” Frankie spits. “Get it in the jeep and then see if you can do anything for my sister.” Adrian lets out a noise and then both of her brothers are walking back towards the stolen van. She doesn’t see them go because her eyes are shut and it helps block out some of the pain. She is drifting and she imagines she can hear rain hitting the windshield. She misses the rain because it’s easier than missing mom or dad or Saul. She doesn’t know if they’re alive. She doesn’t know if she will be much longer either. The longer she’s awake the more pain she feels lancing through her skull and so she tries not to be. The hands on her skin are gentle and she’s hardly aware of them as they tug shards of metal out of her flesh. She thinks she can hear her mother’s voice singing to her and it finally sinks in that it’s her own. When it does she shuts her mouth and tries to get her eyes to open. Only one of them does. The other just screams painfully at her and she doesn’t like the black that meets her gaze. CC is crouched next to her. There is black smeared on his face and she can see blood on his shoulder but he doesn’t show any sign that he knows it’s there. He’s focused on trying to get the shrapnel out of her skin and there’s a large chunk of it embedded in her hip. She barely notices the shifting of the jeep as Frankie and Adrian try to get new tires on it. Nicky is standing in between the two vehicles and he just looks lost. He doesn’t know if he should go help his sister or his brothers or if he should be standing guard with a gun. He reaches for the one at his side and then he pulls his hand away, looking out over the desert and back the way they’ve come. He finally goes over to help Frankie and Evan looks back at CC. “How bad is it?” she asks, maybe because she knows he won’t lie. “You’ve suffered multiple burns and lacerations on your right side but I believe they will heal within a week, two at most. The metal is rusted and therefore tetanus is a possible concern,” he tells her. “The worst damage is to your face.” His hands stay steady and his expression doesn’t change while he tells her this. She watches his face because he’s got the best poker face she’s ever seen and she’s still trying to figure out what’s going on behind that mask of his. Everybody out here wears a mask. Behind her she can hear Frankie cursing as he pulls the jack loose and drops the jeep back down onto the sand. She wonders why he’s still cursing. “I can’t open my eye,” she tells CC. His hands hesitated for only a split second when she says this and she feels something sinking into her chest at the look he gives her. He shifts closer and she winces when she feels him pull something sharp and metal out of her cheekbone and she has to bite down on her lip to keep from crying out. “Why can’t I open it?” she asks him. “It is open,” CC tells her. The words are sharp and ominous and she sucks in a breath when he says it. “The shrapnel cut through your cornea. I do not believe you will be able to see out of that eye again, even if the wound manages to heal.” She feels tears prick her eyes and it hurts more than it should. She closes them to try and shut it out but it doesn’t stop the pain. Wenston They find a bunker a few hours later, tucked away in the sand with no sign that it had ever been inhabited by a human being other than the dirty skeleton lying in the corner of the room. It shields them from the elements and offers blankets and hard mattresses and dehydrated food rations. CC thinks a find like this would normally be a diamond in the rough, but none of the Starks are acting like it is. None of the Starks mean the smiles that are on their faces. The air inside the bunker is stale and old. Frankie carries Evan to one of the thin mattresses on the floor and lays her down. Nicky sticks close to them and Adrian collapses near the wall opposite them, breathing heavily and coughing. He looks pale and sick and CC doesn’t think all of it is contributed to his illness or the bullet wound in his shoulder. Frankie and Nicky work quietly and if Evan is awake, she doesn’t let on that she is. CC sits down near the wall and stays to himself because if Frankie needs him to do something, he’ll tell him to. He is pretty sure Frankie is mad at him again and CC wonders again why Frankie hasn’t followed through with his threat to shoot him yet. He watches Frankie work on Evan, trying to clean out her eye and tape gauze over it. Adrian has his head in his hands and Nicky won’t look anywhere but at his own hands holding his sister’s. Looking down at himself, CC, pulls his shirt off of his shoulder and looks at the bullet wound in his skin. It seems like a flesh wound, but he can’t find the exit wound and when he moves his arm, he can feel something foreign shift against his collar bone. It’s not pleasant but he’s used to things that aren’t pleasant. He wipes his hands against his pants and then reaches up and sticks his index finger and thumb into the bullet wound. It tears at the skin and makes it bleed more, but he forces his own fingers through his flesh until they curl around something metal and hard. Once he’s certain he has a grip on it, he withdraws his fingers and pulls the bullet out with them. CC holds the bullet up so he can see it and it glistens red in the faint light of the dim bulbs hanging from the ceiling. They were surprised the electricity still worked in this place and CC wonders who owns this bunker. Maybe it’s the city. It had been in the GPS, but when they’d shown up, there were no city guards and no city markers here. He thinks maybe this stop has been condemned or retired and he doesn’t want to know why. “You’re going to be fine, Evangeline,” Frankie says and the words draw CC’s attention to the man. He’s crouched over his sister and he’s finished patching her up. Her head is rolled to the side and he can see her good eye crushed shut tightly and a tear making its way down her cheek. He doesn’t think she is going to like losing sight in one eye. “I’d say chicks dig scars, but I know that’s not the type of loving you’re looking for.” CC is surprised when Evan snorts and reaches up a hand to swat at Frankie, who grins. Nicky laughs, but there are tears on his face and then he is laying down next to his sister. Evan wraps her arm around Nicky’s shoulders and holds him close and CC finds it interesting that even when she’s hurt, she feels the need to comfort the younger man. “Adrian,” Frankie says and the other man looks up at him, looking tired and scared. “You got that hole in your shoulder closed up?” Adrian nods and then Frankie waves him over. “Then get your ass over here and tell your sister a fucking joke.” Adrian scoffs, but does as he says, crawling over towards them. He lays down on the opposite side of the mattress, his fingers reaching out to push some of Evan’s hair away from her face. He starts whispering lowly, but CC can’t make out what he’s saying. Once they’re settled, Frankie turns his head to look over at CC. His face is dark and he looks tired but he pushes himself to his feet and comes to stand in front of CC, who just looks up at him curiously. “I apologize I did not react quick enough to shield her from more,” CC tells the man quietly. Frankie’s face contorts into something interesting and then he’s reaching forward, gripping CC’s shoulder and looking at the bullet wound there. “Don’t apologize,” Frankie tells him, his voice hard. CC lets the man dress the wound on his shoulder and Frankie is not being gentle. He’s rough and angry and CC doesn’t say anything even when it hurts. “That’s a sign of weakness.” CC watches Frankie as he works and the man is being unusually quiet and contemplative. Something occurs to CC and he tips his head to the side at the realization of what he’s seeing hits him. “You are very good at protecting your family,” CC tells him. The words make Frankie pause and he glares at CC, his eyes darting around his face. “You mocking me, son?” he asks. CC shakes his head. “I am not,” he says. “It is an observation I have made since I met you. You trust when you should trust and you suspect when you should suspect. You do not always protect them from harm, but you are always the first there when they should need your help.” “Shut the fuck up,” Frankie snaps and CC closes his mouth, holding back a wince as Frankie’s hand tightens inadvertently around the wound in his shoulder. It hurts, but he keeps his mouth shut because he doesn’t want to make the man mad. “I don’t need your fucking hippy pep talk,” he hisses quietly. CC tips his head to the side. “It was merely an observation,” he tells the man. Frankie finishes wrapping CC’s shoulder and then sits down next to him, leaning back and watching his siblings quietly. They sit there for a long while, quiet in each other’s company before CC says, “I believe she will adapt to her injuries and will survive this set back.” Frankie snorts. “Fucking A right she will,” he says. CC nods and takes that as an agreement. Then Frankie turns his head to look at him. “So, you had a wife.” The words strike a painful nerve in his chest and CC nods. “If Captain Meridian spoke the truth, then yes, it sounds like I did.” Frankie nods his head and doesn’t look over at him as he says, “Well maybe you got other family, then.” “Perhaps,” CC agrees. “But Captain Meridian made it appear as though there was nothing left for me should I return to my old life.” CC glances over at Frankie and then looks back to the three curled on the mattress. “I think perhaps it would be better if I stayed with your family.” Frankie snorts. “You see, when you say stuff like that, Carl, it makes me think you’re starting to like us.” CC ponders the words for a moment and then nods his head. “I believe I am.” .Wolfie. Evan wakes to the sound of voices. She’s not quite sure how long she’s been asleep but it feels like longer than she’s used to. She’s normally a light sleeper but it takes her a lot longer this time to try and get her head together. Her head feels fuzzy and she’s a little lost, the aftermath of her dreams mixing with reality and making it hard to tell where she is. Half of her face is throbbing in pain and she forgets for a minute why only one eye opens when she tells it to. Her hand reaches up to clear her vision and her fingertips meet gauze taped over half her face. There is blood seeping through the bandage and then she remembers it’s dead to her now.Nicky is lying next to her and he is snoring. His hands are curled into fists and he’s got them tucked up under his chin, his eyes closed and his face streaked with tears. Evan runs a hand through his hair and just watches her kid brother because he’s still so young to be out here. Granted, he’s not much younger than her, but he was a teenager when all of this came crashing down on them and none of it was his fault. He’s just a victim of the last name he carries with him and the sins of his father. “We need antibiotics,” Adrian is saying. “That gets infected…” Her good eye opens and she’s grateful that it’s just a little gritty and sore. It takes her a minute to realize why all their voices come from far away and why her eardrum is just vibrating painfully. She remembers a grenade going off next to her head and all those little stings and cuts are starting to make sense. Adrian is sitting next to her. She realizes her head is resting on his leg and she can feel his hand moving slowly through her hair. She wonders how long he’s been watching over her and she feels guilty because he’s the one that’s sick and should be resting, not her. “Where the fuck are we supposed to get those?” Frankie asks. Evan can’t see him through Nicky but she doesn’t want to try and sit up yet. Everything hurts and her body still feels tired. Even the thin mattress feels good to her right now and she can feel the cool cement underneath it. She is having a hard time remembering where they are or how they got here but her brother’s are all here and they’re something like safe for the moment. That counts for a lot out here in the wasteland. Her fingers wander back over the gauze covering her eye and immediately she feels her stomach sink because she doesn’t know how she’s supposed to fucking protect herself or her brothers with a massive handicap like this. It’s going to fuck with her aim and she’s going to have to learn to shoot all over again. She’s going to have a massive blind spot on her right side. There’s one last, vain little thought niggling in the back of her mind and she feels embarrassed it’s there but she wonders if Saul will still think she’s pretty. Then she remembers she’s never going to see him again and it doesn’t matter either way. “It is possible we could check the stops preprogrammed into the GPS for a likely town or outpost,” CC says. If she tilts her head then she can see him at least. He is sitting against the far wall, a book resting on his knees and she wonders if he’s reading Frankie’s bible again. His eyes are scanning the pages carefully, one by one and his expression is shuttered and emotionless. He glances up when no one answers him, looking where she thinks Frankie is first and then towards Adrian. His gaze drops from her twin to her when he catches her open eye. She manages to smirk at him because the man did save her life, but she doesn’t say thanks. “Then we should do that,” Adrian says. He sounds exhausted and when she looks up at him he’s got his head tipped back against the wall. His hand keeps moving along the side of her head and the other one is resting in his lap because that shoulder’s got a hole in it. If the sloppy job is any indication than he closed it up himself and a part of her feels desperate and sad thinking of her brother sewing up his own wounds because he’s got tainted blood and might get any one of his family members sick. She reaches up to catch his hand as it moves over her head and his gaze snaps down to her, a smile curling his lips. “About time you woke up.” She snorts and slaps weakly at his leg. “Shut up,” she tells him. He laughs at the weak comeback but she doesn’t think he means it. He’s looking at her face with a sad, pained look on his own and she does her best to force her body upright. “Jesus Christ Adrian,” she tells him, using his good shoulder as leverage as she hauls herself into a sitting position. “Stop looking at me like I died.” He swallows hard and he’s still not laughing. His hand catches hers and he squeezes tightly, watching her face as her chin digs into his shoulder. She doesn’t ask how bad it looks because she doesn’t want to make him lie. “You almost did,” he whispers quietly. “But I didn’t,” she tells him again. She tries to smile but it pulls at all the cuts in her face. He tries to smile back and then he turns to look at Frankie. Her brother’s sitting on the floor next to the door to the bunker, a shotgun cradled in his arms and his back against the wall. His feet are splayed out in front of him and judging by the circles under his eyes he’s been over there most of the night, if not all of it. If he’s gotten any sleep at all it’s only in bits and pieces. “What happened to Meridian?” Evan asks, because she can remember the fight but not the outcome. Frankie snorts and rolls his head to the side to look at CC. The man doesn’t look up but she sees her brother grin as he watches his face. “Carl took care of that,” he says. “Cleared us a path right out of that fucking hellhole. ‘Course he did wander off right after I just got done yelling at him about that the night before, so clearly his listening skills aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.” “I am very sorry and it won’t happen again,” CC says. He flips another page and he doesn’t look at Frankie as he keeps reading. It almost makes Evan laugh because his apology is dry and insincere and he has an interesting tone in his voice. “Why Carl, if I didn’t know better I would say that was sarcasm.” Frankie laughs and apparently he thinks the same thing. His head tips back and he looks up at the dusty ceiling of the bunker they’re hiding out in. There are cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and a skeleton in the corner next to Frankie. Evan doesn’t like how much she has to turn her head to take all of these things in. She doesn’t like how hard it is to hear half of what they’re saying or how much her ear hurts when they do. “I thought I would make the attempt,” CC says. Adrian chuckles next to her and she feels him squeeze her hand again. Nicky’s still asleep on the floor next to her and she rests a hand on her kid brother’s shoulder because it makes her feel better to remind herself that her brothers are all here. If she thinks about it then there are a lot of reasons they should all be dead already and they’re not. “You gonna be able to shoot with that?” Frankie asks her. Adrian’s eyes narrow at him but for once Evan’s not mad at her brother. She watches his eyes and she thinks it’s the best way he knows to ask her if she’s going to be okay. “I’ll adjust,” she says quietly. She tries to smirk but she closes her eyes to fight back the sting of tears pricking her eyes. “There are references to a man named Ethan Stark throughout Meridian’s notes and I believe it is the same man you referred to as your father,” CC says abruptly. Adrian grows still next to her and she feels his hand tighten on hers unconsciously this time. Evan tips her head to look at CC but he doesn’t even look up from the book in his hand. He flips to the next page and continues reading, apparently unaware of the audience he has staring at him. After a moment of quiet she hears Frankie growl and he’s pushing himself to his feet, stalking across the small space to stand over CC. “Let me see that,” he demands. He reaches down and pulls it out of CC’s hands and the man lets him take it without a fight. He flips through it with narrowed eyes, holding it up to the bulbs above him. Evan glances down at CC and she frowns when she sees the bandage wrapped around his shoulder. She doesn’t remember him getting hurt. There are gaps in her memory and she doesn’t like them there. Frankie snorts and tosses the notebook back at CC. “Glad you can read the fucking thing because I can’t.” CC picks it up and flips back to the page he was on. “He keeps his notes in shorthand but he uses a common enough cipher that it was not difficult to decode. Apparently Meridian was hoping news of your execution would draw your father out of hiding.” Adrian snorts and tips his head back against the wall. “Not likely,” he says. “Probably would have just pissed him off.” He laughs afterwards, his eyes drifting shut. His thumb keeps moving against Evan’s skin but she feels him shudder the next moment and then he’s coughing. She holds onto his arm tightly for both of their sakes as they rip through his chest and out his mouth. Frankie crouches down in front of CC and he tries to look nonchalant when he does. “What else does it say about him?” CC continues reading the page he’s on but he still answers the question. “Captain Meridian did not show as much interest in the man as some of his superiors. Apparently Meridian considered him a figurehead, as opposed to a real man, and focused his attention on the pieces around him.” CC tilts his head curiously as he reads the pages and then he glances up at Frankie. “It seems almost as though he is playing a game of chess against your father and considers him the king. Most of his work involves capturing pieces he considers valuable to your father’s cause while ignoring the man himself. He regarded me as one of those pieces.” “Yeah? And which piece are you?” Frankie asks. Adrian coughs again and then he spits something black onto the concrete to his right. Evan holds onto him as he shivers and she tries to keep her eye open but she can feel herself starting to drift off. The pain is making it hard to concentrate and there is heat behind the gauze on her eye. It feels like it’s bleeding again but she can’t be sure. She thinks about asking her brother to stitch it shut but she doesn’t think she could handle that kind of pain. CC glances over at them for a moment and if she didn’t know better she’d think she sees a trace of concern in his eyes. Then he looks up at Frankie, his fingers lingering on the notebook. “It is hard to tell,” he says. “His attitude regarding me shifts based on the timing of his notes. I cannot tell if he considers me only a pawn or a queen.” Frankie snorts and claps him on the shoulder. “You’re a queen alright, Carl,” he tells him, chuckling and moving back to his spot by the door. CC blinks and looks up at him curiously, watching as he settles back in next to the door. “I had always assumed you would be the queen,” he tells Frankie, and it makes it better that he’s dead serious when he does. Wenston CC wakes up in the desert, in the middle of the sand, with just open skies and dusty winds surrounding him and he knows this is a dream. There’s no sign of the Starks and no sign of any form of humanity. He’s just laying in the sand, with the sun beating down on him and he’s completely alone. He wonders if the dream is supposed to mean something or perhaps it’s a memory that’s found its way into his consciousness, but he somehow doubts that. This feels more like a dream. A buzzard begins flying overhead and CC watches it circle him for a while. The bird is black and big and ugly. Every time it starts to get closer to him, CC waves an arm to show it he’s not dead and he cannot snack on him yet. He wonders if the buzzard will get tired and move on to a different venture. He doubts that as well. He doubts a lot of things in this dream. He wonders where the Starks are. He sits ups in the sand and it burns at his feet. They’re bare and he’s wearing pants that don’t belong to him or the city. He has a plain shirt on and his hair is longer. He thinks maybe this is the way he was before. He thinks maybe in this dream he can remember the man he used to be, but not his name or how he acted, just how he looked. He wonders if her really did have a wife and children and if they’re dead. He wonders if he’ll ever remember them. “I thought I told you not to wander off,” a voice calls and CC recognizes it as Frankie’s. He turns and looks over his shoulder at the man whose speaking to him, but it’s not Frankie standing there. It’s someone who looks like Frankie, but older. He’s strong and confident and a leader. He has his arms crossed over his chest and his head tilted to the side as he regards CC with a curious look. “I apologize,” CC tells the man. The man nods his head and then grins and it looks just like Frankie. “You’re not a pawn or a queen,” he says. “You’re my knight. Surprise attack, remember?” CC frowns and looks down at himself. When he looks back up again, the man is closer and he can see his face a little bit more clearly, but as soon as he looks away, he forgets what the man looks like, other than he looks like Frankie. “I do not remember,” he tells him. The man smirks and then crouches down in front of CC. “We go until checkmate,” he says and CC isn’t sure he understands, but then the dream is over and his eyes are opening. He’s not in the desert, at least not outside. There’s no sun shining, just a spider filled, cobwebby ceiling with a low hanging light bulb that still miraculously works. It’s the bunker in the desert and he’s with the Starks and he can’t remember the man’s face, but he thinks he knows his name. Ethan Stark. CC thinks he knew him. Rolling his head to the side, he checks on the Starks and not much has changed with them. Frankie still sits by the door with a shotgun cradled like a child in his arms. His head is dipped and he must have fallen asleep for a while. Evan still lays on the mattress with Adrian cradling her head. Nicky is sprawled next to her, lying on his stomach with his mouth open and soft snores. CC thinks this is the first time they’ve slept soundly in a long time. Since he’s met them, at least. Evan’s wounds have stopped bleeding. Blood has soaked through the gauze over her eye, but he thinks that will do that for a while. Those wounds can get serious and he thinks they should do what Adrian suggests and go find antibiotics before it gets infected. He thinks maybe he can look at the GPS for a preprogrammed stop that will take them to a town or city bunker that will have antibiotics. CC frowns suddenly when he realizes his hand is shaking. He rolls his head back and looks down at himself. The arm effected by the wounded shoulder is perfectly fine, lying at his side. But his other hand lays across his stomach and it is shaking violently. He wonders what is causing it and he can’t be sure. Normally the tremors are caused by Hitch, but he hasn’t had Hitch since Captain Meridian had given it to him in the jail. Perhaps there is some other medical nuance causing the tremor. Reaching with his good hand, he holds the shaking one, but it doesn’t stop or slow it. He lays there for a long while watching his hand but it doesn’t fix the problem so he lays his head back and stares at the ceiling. He thinks about the dream and he thinks maybe he’s afraid of waking up one day alone. He knows that’s an odd thought, especially since he’s only known the Starks for a few days, but he thinks it’s true. He’s afraid of being alone because when he’s with the Starks, he’s human. He doesn’t think he’d survive out there by himself. He’d wind up back in the city, back in the labs, and that is the last place he wants to be. That’s the last place he even wants to think about. Perhaps when they find Ethan Stark, the man will find a place for him. He doubts the Starks will want him tagging along, but he can hear Captain Meridian’s words clearly in his head that there is no one and nothing waiting for him in the city or away from the labs. He is alone and he finds himself afraid of that thought. Pulling Meridian’s notebook back out, he flips through the pages again. He’s made it through the whole thing and he finds it extremely interesting. Meridian used shorthand and nicknames for everything. CC had gone through the whole notebook and he’d been looking for one word that Meridian had mentioned to him. “Calendar.” Meridian had asked if the word meant anything to him and it didn’t. CC thinks it should. But he’d can’t find the word mentioned in the notebook. Not once. He finds no mention of CC before the labs other than he was somehow brought in because of Ethan Stark, who Meridian had called the man, “Ghost” in the notebook and CC thinks it’s because Meridian had never met the man face to face. Neither had any of his superiors. CC wonders if Meridian is still alive and he doesn’t think so, but he feels as though he should have made sure before he walked away. CC’s hand still shakes violently and he sits up, setting the notebook down next to him to cradle his arm to his chest. He is uncertain why it is shaking and he hopes that it stops before the Starks wake up. He thinks about Harvey Wellington the Third asking if he’s broken and he’s unsure if the tremor has something to do with that or not. He wonders how a human could break and he immediately dismisses the idea that perhaps he’s not human. Standing up, CC walks further back into the bunker and sits down, out of sight of the Starks and he looks at his hand resting in his lap and it is still shaking. He grabs his fingers to try and hold it still and it still won’t stop, so he squeezes his hand until it hurts and when it still won’t stop shaking, CC balls it into a fist and swings it back at the wall. The shaking stops after that and CC looks down at his hand and just stares because he’s unsure what is wrong. He’s unsure why he feels an emptiness in his chest and he’s unsure why he’s dreaming of waking up alone in the desert. He’s unsure about a lot of things, but most of all, he’s unsure why he’s trying so hard not to think about Captain Meridian’s words. They’re dead. And he only wishes he can remember who “they” are. .Wolfie. .five. Adrian and Frankie are arguing. Evan’s not quite sure what they’re arguing about, because half her hearing is shot and she’s not really paying attention anyway. She’s still tired even though she slept all night and she can’t shake this lingering dizziness, probably because a fucking grenade blew up next to her head and now her inner ear is busted or something equally as bad. She doesn’t know, but either way she can’t keep track of what they’re talking about. Adrian’s sitting in the passenger seat and Frankie’s driving as usual. Nicky sits on one side of CC and Evan sits on the other, the one good eye she’s got left watching the desert go by. Her head is throbbing. They don’t have painkillers and they don’t have antibiotics and she’s trying not to worry about either of those things but it’s hard to shake the fear. Her eye is dead and she knows it but if it gets infected they’ll have to cut it out completely and she doesn’t know what they’ll do if it stays infected after that. She doesn’t like thinking about it because it’s one thing to be half blind and it’s another to lose half her face or outright die. She’s never been this badly hurt before and she doesn’t like the feeling. Next to her CC is flipping through the notebook in his hands and she wonders what he’s looking for. He’s probably already got the thing committed to memory but he’s going through it line by line anyway, fingers trailing over the words. The jeep bounces over rocks and dirt and she winces as it jars her head against the glass. She’s sitting on the right side but she makes a mental note to switch with Nicky whenever they stop. She sucks in a breath and tries to pay attention to what her brothers are saying because she doesn’t remember where they’re going. Probably the city if the GPS in Adrian’s hands is any indicator. “We don’t have to take everything at gunpoint, Frankie,” Adrian is saying. “Let’s just go in and pay whatever the fuck they want for it and call it good.” He runs his hand over his face and he looks pale and tired as he moves to rub his neck. He slept against the wall all night and Evan knows that for a fact because he let her use him as a pillow. His hands are trembling as they move over his skin and he tries to mask it by running them back through his hair and then scratching an itch she doubts is there. “Now that’s just a waste of money,” Frankie tells him. He’s grinning because Adrian’s actually arguing with him and he’s such a controversial bastard sometimes. “Why pay for it when we can get it for free? No one’s gonna argue with my gun in their mouth.” “Yeah?” Adrian asks, rolling his head to the side to look at Frankie. “And what are you gonna do when we all get thrown in a cell?” Frankie makes a face and then he points at Adrian with a sneer on his face. “They got lucky that time ‘cause they caught me by surprise,” he says. He grinds the words out and Evan almost smiles because she can tell her brother’s getting a little pissy and a little uppity. “It ain’t gonna happen again. I’ll go in shooting and that way no one has time to draw a gun.” Adrian sighs and tips his head back against the seat. His hand is still moving over his skin and she watches it run down over his mouth before he snorts and lowers his voice. “I’m glad you’re so confident, but are you willing to put Evan on the line for it?” “I can still fucking hear you,” Evan says dryly. Adrian glances over his shoulder and he just smiles at her. Frankie’s frowning and he glances in the rearview mirror at her. His eyes linger on the fresh gauze over her eye and she still doesn’t know what it looks like. She’s not sure she wants to know and she hasn’t made it a point to look. She’s trying to just be grateful she’s alive and she’s going to have to teach herself to shoot all over again but she can handle it. She’s a Stark for fuck’s sake. Her brother watches her face and she glares back at him. He smirks and then his gaze shifts to look at CC and she doesn’t know what her brother sees when he looks at him. He hasn’t shot him yet and she wonders if CC understands just how unlike him that is. Then he finally looks at Nicky and when he settles on the kid a huff of air leaves his throat. Their youngest brother is awake but he’s just looking out the window at the desert, his eyes wide and innocent and young. “Alright,” he says. His voice irritated and dark and he pulls his gun to wave the barrel in Adrian’s direction, even if he doesn’t point it at him. “We’ll do it your way. But I’m tellin’ you, anybody so much as looks at me shifty I’m putting this fucking gun in their mouths and pulling the trigger.” Adrian smirks and shifts back in the seat. He laces his fingers behind his head and she can see his boot come up to rest on the dashboard. It bounces like he’s anxious or bored but she thinks he just can’t control it. “I can live with that,” Adrian says. The jeep hits another bump and Evan sucks in a breath of air when it bangs her temple off the glass again. She sits up after that and the world tilts around her for a moment. She closes her good eye but it just seems to make the feeling worse and she forces it back open. Her head is throbbing and she can feel heat spreading behind the gauze. She wonders if the wound is already infected. She leans her head back against the seat and tilts it to the other side where CC is sitting. She watches his hand move over the page and like Frankie she can’t make any sense out of them, but she’s not sure if that’s because it’s written in code or because she’s have blind and half stupid right now. Maybe that’s why her mouth moves to ask the question even if she’s not sure she wants the answer. “He write anything in there about your wife?” she asks him quietly. CC stiffens almost imperceptibly but she catches it because it’s more emotion than he usually shows. That and she’s used to subtle changes in movement. It helps her tell the difference between when Frankie’s being an asshole and when he’s being a sociopath. “No,” CC tells her. “There is nothing written here about my life prior to the labs.” She nods her head and she wonders if that’s disappointment in his voice. She still hasn’t figured out which of her brothers is right about him, whether he’s just this stone cold robot or if he’s got emotions buried in there. She’s leaning towards the second because he was a man once, and she has to believe they still can’t kill human nature. “You remember her at all?” she asks. CC hesitates for a moment like he is scanning his memory to make sure he’s telling the truth before he shakes his head. “No,” he answers. Evan frowns at the word and she keeps her single eye focused on his face when he says it. She snorts and manages to smile at him as she tries to keep her tone light and joking. “See, for a man with such a good poker face, you’re kind of a shitty liar,” she tells him. Frankie’s watching him in the rearview mirror and she doesn’t notice at first because there’s this large blind spot to her right that wasn’t there a few days ago and she’s still getting used to it. She says she’ll adjust, but she thinks it’s going to take a long time before she relearns everything she needs to. “I am not lying,” he tells her calmly. He folds the notebook closed and watches his hand in his lap, thumb moving across the cover of it. “I have no solid memories of my wife, if she truly existed as Meridian claims. However…” Here he pauses and Evan watches his face as he does. There’s a slight frown tugging at his brow and he shakes his head. “No,” he says again. “I have no memories of her.” “I’m sorry,” Evan tells him, and she means it because that bothers her in ways she won’t explain. That’s her religion. She doesn’t care if God knows her name because she doesn’t believe in him, but she wants someone on earth to remember her when she’s gone. CC looks up at her at the words like he is surprised at them. His gaze goes to the patch over her eye and it doesn’t change his expression. She thinks about thanking him for pulling her out of the way when he did because she didn’t expect that kind of loyalty from him. She expects him to do what it takes to stay alive because that’s all anyone out here can do, but she doesn’t think Frankie would have shot him even if she had died in that blast. She thinks he had nothing to gain from it but she doesn’t say thank you because she’s a Stark and they’re all a bunch of stubborn assholes. Nicky rolls his head off the window to look at CC. “Hey, so if you don’t remember getting laid does that mean you’re still technically a virgin?” he asks. Frankie snorts out a laugh from the front seat and Adrian tilts his head back to shoot a glare at his kid brother. Nicky doesn’t even notice. “I’m just saying you might as well be right? Since you don’t remember how to do it.” “Shut the fuck up Nicky,” Evan tells him. His gaze goes to her and as soon as it hits her face the smile slips right off his lips. She forces herself to smirk at him and reaches over to slap the back of his head. “It still counts.” Nicky makes a face at her but he manages to smile even if it’s weak. “Well, I don’t think it should.” “Aw its okay little brother,” Frankie drawls from the driver’s seat. He’s grinning back at Nicky and he waggles his eyebrows in the rearview mirror. “We’ll make a man out of you yet. One of these days we’ll find you a nice girl willing to spread her legs for you, even if I have to pay her to do it.” He laughs afterwards and Adrian gives him a disgusted look before he slumps back in his seat. He turns his head away to stare out the window and she knows he’s still holding out for Riley, even if he doesn’t admit it. Nicky turns red and his voice grows in pitch because he’s embarrassed and trying not to be. “Hell yeah we will,” he says. “Only you won’t be paying her, she’ll be paying me when I’m through with her.” He laughs and it’s still a little squeaky and Evan snorts and shakes her head at her brother. It sends a wave of dizziness through her and her head starts to drift. Frankie’s laugh is booming and honest from the front seat. “Oh yeah?” he says, lifting an eyebrow and twisting to look behind him. “My kid brother going to start turning tricks? With a pretty mouth like yours I’m sure you’ll have lots of takers.” “What?” Nicky bursts out. “No, come on Frankie, I didn’t mean it like that!” Evan slumps deeper into the seat and her eyes feel heavy and sore. The wounded one is itching and she fights the urge to reach up and scratch it or tear the gauze off it and try to see if it’s really dead. She knows it is, but it doesn’t stop the urge. She braces her feet against Adrian’s chair and she feels her head tilting to the side. It stops when it meets CC’s shoulder and he glances down curiously at her. “You mind?” she asks him, not even opening her eye. Her head is throbbing and she doesn’t want it banging against the window. “No,” he tells her. His voice is calm and passive but she doesn’t look up at him to see if it’s echoed in his face “However I am surprised at the show of affection. I was under the assumption that you did not care for me without my restraints.” She snorts and swears she doesn’t smile at that. “Yeah, well don’t read into it, science experiment. I still like you better cuffed.” Wenston “Well, that’s interesting,” Frankie says. They’re in the jeep still, Frankie with his arms crossed slumped over the wheel. Beside him, Adrian sits holding his rifle. Evan is awake and somewhat more alert than she’s been prior. Nicky is bouncing in his seat and CC sits in the middle, looking out at what has caught the eldest Stark’s attention. There is a town. It was an entry in the GPS, but CC sees no sign of city workers or trucks or emblems. He sees no city buildings and the town is not even fashioned in the same way as a city town. It’s got its own architecture and CC thinks the thing that Frankie finds interesting is that there are large, wooden crosses on top of nearly every building. And at the center of the town is a highly structured, very detailed cathedral with a stained glass window and a looming tower. Adrian clears his throat. “You should fit right in here, Frankie,” he says and turns to grin at his eldest brother, who waggles his eyebrows in response. CC thinks it is a joke that he doesn’t understand. He’s uncertain if Frankie will fit in to any town. Perhaps he will connect more with this one with his knowledge of the bible and religion, but he thinks Frankie’s interpretation is different from the common interpretation and it could cause more conflict than understanding. “You could go in as a bible salesman,” Evan says and it earns a snort from Adrian, but a glare from Frankie. CC clears his throat and it gains the attention of everyone in the jeep. “I believe the best course of action is to greet the local population with knowledge instead of opinion,” he says. Frankie’s eyes narrow at him as he turns to look over his shoulder. “What are you implying, Carl?” he asks, a hint of humor in his voice. “You are very abrasive and out of the normal standards when it comes to your religion,” CC tells him straightly. It earns a laugh from both Evan and Adrian, but Frankie turns his glare to Adrian and punches him lightly in the shoulder. The man just keeps laughing, reaching a hand up to rub at the sore spot. Frankie points a finger at CC. “Maybe I’m the normal and they’re the weirdos,” he says. He doesn’t give CC time to answer as he shoves the door open and climbs out into the sand, slamming it behind him. CC tips his head to the side. “I highly doubt that,” he tells the others and it only makes Adrian shake his head, chuckling as he opens his own door. CC sits still as the others climb out of the jeep and round it to start pulling weapons out of the back. Evan walks slowly and gingerly and CC climbs out after her, sticking close behind her because he feels she may fall at any moment. He thinks about telling her that she should stay in the jeep and rest, but he doubts she’ll listen. She’s an extremely stubborn person. “So, remember, we’re going to go in there and ask nicely,” Adrian says, eyeing Frankie to make sure his elder brother is hearing him alright. Frankie snorts and snaps the ammo into his gun. “No shooting people.” “Unless they look at you shifty,” CC says, pulling the gun off of his side and checking it to make sure he has some shots left. When he looks up, Frankie is grinning at him and Adrian is giving him a strange look. He glances between the both of them and then looks pass them towards the town. “Perhaps if we do not all go in together, they will not consider us as big of a threat.” Frankie shuts up the jeep and then walks up to him, slapping an arm around his shoulders and turning him towards the town. “You’re not getting out of it that easily, Carl,” he says, grinning. CC thinks about telling Frankie he hadn’t planned on being one of the ones to stay behind, but he keeps his mouth shut. Behind them, Nicky trails, twirling his peashooter and bringing up the rear, Adrian helps Evan walk. They’re quiet as they enter the town and Frankie removes his arm to keep his hands on the guns at his hips. The man is keeping an eye out for anyone or anything that moves. CC thinks the town is very quiet. The sun is high in the sky and clouds are shielding them from the warming rays. CC thinks a storm could be coming soon and he hopes Frankie doesn’t compromise them being able to take shelter in this town. Or perhaps they could get themselves thrown in jail again to take shelter. Although he could be wrong about the storm altogether. He’s still getting used to the weather out here. “God Bless, stranger!” a man’s shrill voice sounds and they all spin hurriedly to look towards a tavern to their left. A man has just come out from the swinging doors, his hand raised in greeting. His hair is white and his skin tan. His eyes a pale blue and he wears black robes with a white collar. There’s a brimmed hat encircling his head and a heavy, beaded cross hanging around his neck. “Have you come to find the Word of the Lord?” Frankie snorts. “Funny, I’d like to have a word with him,” he drawls, grinning, but CC doesn’t miss the way his hands don’t stray from his guns, always ready to draw. The man doesn’t seem fazed by the words and he smiles gently at them before coming down off the porch and walking across the dusty road to greet them. “We all find grace in prayer,” he says, bowing his head and crossing himself before he smiles politely at Frankie. “Have you given yourself to Jesus?” Frankie opens his mouth to say something, but Adrian cuts his brother off and sticks a hand out towards the man, wanting to greet him with a formal handshake. “We’re actually here to see if we can barter for some antibiotics,” he says. The man begins to smile warmly and take Adrian’s hand, but then he pauses as he looks down at his fingers and he withdraws his hand back, instead cradling it near his chest. Adrian’s smile falters and beside him, Evan sneers, though it loses something with the gauze still over her face. Ignoring Adrian fully, the man turns to Frankie. “What brings you here?” Frankie lifts an eyebrow and glances over at Adrian, a curious look on his face. Then he snorts and smirks like he thinks its funny, but CC can tell by the way his hand tightens on his gun that he doesn’t. “You deaf, old man?” he asks, laughing at himself. “Because I swear I just heard my brother say what we were here for.” The man’s smile sticks on his face, though it lacks luster now. He nods his head. “We have medicine I can give you,” then he looks towards Evan and Nicky, smiling at them. His eyes linger on Adrian for a moment before they finally come to CC, first studying his face and then moving to the code on his neck. The smile slips from his lips and he takes a step backward, eyes going back to Frankie. “You bring evil with you.” Frankie snorts. “Who, Carl? Come on, I know how the church feels about alternative lifestyles, but really now…” The man puckers his lips and Frankie and then pulls a bible out from beneath his robes, bringing it to his forehead and whispering a prayer before he shakes it at CC and Adrian. “The Lord shall punish the tainted. The Lord shall protect the pure.” He repeats it several times and CC just tips his head to the side, watching curiously. “I believe you have mistaken the origin of my being,” CC tells the man, interrupting his mantra. The man lifts his eyes to eye CC, like he’s appalled CC had spoken at all. Then he points a finger at his neck. “You bear the mark. I know your kind. You’re one of them. You’re like her.” “Her?” Adrian asks. He glances over at CC and then his eyes widen as he looks back towards the man. “You mean there’s someone with a code like his here?” The man ignores him and turns around to head back inside, looking at Frankie. “I will give you the medicine, but you must leave.” Frankie tips his head at the man and then draws a gun, but holds it down at his side. “I believe my brother asked you a question, son,” he says. The man pauses on the steps, with his back towards them. He turns to look over his shoulder and the friendly look on his face is gone. It is cold and hard and awful looking. “The catacombs beneath the cathedral,” he says. “She is there. A prisoner of God. A servant of the serpent. Lucifer’s child.” He nods his head towards CC. “She bares your mark. She bares the symbol, SC666. Satan’s Child. Satan’s symbols.” Then he turns around again and heads inside. CC frowns slightly and glances towards Frankie, who is watching the man’s retreating back. Evan looks towards him and asks, “You got a sister out there?” CC shakes his head. “No,” he says. “I do not believe so. But the SC specimens are from the same labs.” CC pauses and when Frankie glances at him, he feels almost guilty for saying, “The SC specimens were gifted children.” .Wolfie. “Jesus Carl,” Frankie spits. “If we have to have another talk about this keeping secrets business we’re going to do it with a gun pointed at your head.” He keeps his gun out and gestures it behind him and he’s not looking at CC when he says it because he’s watching the preacher’s back as he walks away. Evan snorts at her brother’s words and she thinks he’s just pissy because he wants to reeducate the man on religion. She’s pissy because she doesn’t like the way the man looked at CC or the fact that they’ve got another science experiment like him locked up their basement, but she likes even less the way she treated Adrian.“I apologize,” CC says. “It was not intentional.” Frankie snorts and glances back at CC. He studies him for a moment and then he smirks, twirling his gun in one hand. “Yeah, alright,” he says. “I’ll let it go this time, but you better fucking explain what you mean by ‘gifted children.’” He motions the gun at CC while he says the words and the man just watches passively. Evan rolls her eyes and she wonders if Frankie really believes himself when he says he’s going to shoot CC anymore. He turns around to follow the priest and just expects them to follow. Evan’s arm is wrapped around Adrian’s waist and for once it’s not to keep him upright. It’s because she is still wavering on her feet and there is a throbbing pain starting behind her eye and encompassing the right side of her head. She doesn’t like the preacher and she doesn’t like this town but she trails after her eldest brother and CC anyway because she thinks she needs the antibiotics. “They were gifted,” CC says again. The words don’t mean much but he seems hesitant to elaborate. That surprises and confuses Evan a little bit because she didn’t think CC had secrets, no matter what Frankie says. “They were genetically superior.” “Can’t be so fucking superior if one of them is sitting in the basement of a church, right?” Frankie laughs afterwards but Evan can tell by now when he means it and when he doesn’t. His boots are loud on the wooden porch as he follows the preacher into the building and he lifts his gun cautiously as he catches the door with one hand. The man doesn’t turn around and if he notices that Frankie’s behind him with a loaded gun he doesn’t make any sign. Evan thinks it’s stupid of him, but then he doesn’t know Frankie. The room is quiet and sterile and it is almost blinding. The walls are painted white and the paint is cracking and peeling at the edges. There’s a cross hung over the door and she snorts when she sees it. There’s a desk out front and then a second door that the man disappears through and she doesn’t like that he hasn’t turned around. She doesn’t like that she can’t see where he’s gone or what he’s doing and Frankie seems to feel the same way. He keeps following the man and he’s just getting to the second door when he reappears in it, a small plastic bottle in hand. He presses it into Frankie’s hands and pushes his fingers closed. “There are the antibiotics,” the man says. He holds onto Frankie’s hand for a moment. “Now leave this town and leave none of your evil behind.” He glances at CC and then at Adrian after he says it and the look he’s giving her brother makes her lip curl and a snarl rise in her throat. “May God have mercy on your souls,” he says, and then he lets go of Frankie and crosses himself. “Now hold on one fucking minute,” Frankie says. His hand moves to pocket the antibiotics and with the other he lifts his gun and gestures it at the preacher. “God doesn’t have mercy on anyone son, that ain’t how the Almighty works.” “Jesus, here we go,” Evan says. She leans heavily against Adrian and he’s frowning at their brother. “Frankie,” he hisses. “Just let it go.” The man ignores him and Evan had wondered just how long his playing nice was going to last. Nicky is grinning like this is his favorite thing in the world to watch and he starts to roam around the room, looking at the plain wooden chairs set out and the desk that sits at the far side of the room. He picks up a wooden carving of Jesus and studies it in the light before he accidently snaps it off the base. He looks hurriedly up at Frankie but his brother is watching the preacher and he puts it back on the desk. “God is forgiving of those who repent,” the man says, lifting his chin a little higher. “Those who take his light into their souls and accept the savior Jesus Christ into their lives will be granted passage into heaven.” Frankie snorts at that and shakes his head. “Listen son, God ain’t paying attention to what goes on down here. He doesn’t give a shit anymore.” The man sucks in a breath and his gaze darkens at the words. Frankie just motions him closer. “Let me tell you what, I’ll let you in on a little secret. You want to pave your way into heaven, you better start teaching God your name.” “Frankie,” Adrian hisses. He shakes his head at his brother when he looks over his shoulder but Frankie just grins. The man’s eyes are still narrowed and angry. His gaze flicks behind Frankie and there is something dark and angry when he looks at Adrian. It makes Evan shift a little closer to her brother and she doesn’t understand why he’s looking at him like that but she bets it has a lot to do with the black spreading through his veins. She can see it in his wrists and the preacher probably did too. Then his gaze shifts next to him towards CC. If anything his expression just grows darker and she can see his gaze burning through the mark on his neck. “You travel with the devil’s servants in your midst,” he says. “I hope God takes mercy on you for that.” Frankie laughs and he motions the gun at the man in a casual motion. “Devil’s servants? Now I know you ain’t talking about my brother and my new friend Carl over here, because they sure as fuck ain’t servants of the devil.” “He bears the mark of Lucifer,” the man says. “Where he walks he will bring only death and despair in his wake.” His voice is turning low and dangerous and Evan doesn’t trust this man one bit. She clings a little harder to Adrian, even if she won’t admit it and she glances over at CC. He is tense next to them and she wonders if he’s thinking about the woman they’ve got in their cathedral or if he’s actually buying into any of this man’s crap. She thinks he’s smarter than that. “That so?” Frankie growls. He moves forward and puts an arm around the preacher man and then he shoves his gun up under his chin. “Well, why don’t you go ahead and show me the mark of Lucifer then? Why don’t you show me this demon you got trapped in your big ol’ church over there and then I can tell you if you’re looking at the devil. Should be able to recognize him by now.” The man sucks in a breath and she thinks she sees a spark of fear in his eyes. “This will not go unpunished,” he says. “You are threatening a man of the Lord Almighty. There are some sins even he will not forgive.” “Well, we can talk about that when I get up there,” Frankie tells him. “Right now we’re going to talk about your sins, like the girl you got trapped in your basement, how about that?” He hauls the man towards the door and Nicky trots obediently after him, still twirling the little gun in his hand. She can hear Adrian hissing curses under his breath but he nods his head at CC to follow because once again Frankie just can’t help himself, even though she’s not sure he’s in the wrong. “I do not believe your brother is capable of subtlety,” CC says calmly. Adrian snorts out a laugh. “This is him being subtle,” he says. CC nods his head like he agrees and he follows them out into the sun. It is dim and shadowed by the clouds overhead and Evan thinks it looks like another sandstorm is headed their way. She blinks the grit out of her eye and she ducks her head against the rising winds because she’s only got the one left and she better take care of it. “She is not a girl anymore,” the preacher says. He leads the way up the stairs of the church and he doesn’t seem scared, not like he should be. She wonders if he understands that Frankie will shoot him just because he’s bored. “She is Lucifer’s child.” “Yeah,” Frankie drawls. “So you’ve said. Why don’t you just go ahead and let me see for myself.” The man doesn’t answer and he doesn’t say anything else. He pulls open the doors of the church for Frankie and Evan can’t see anyone in it. The aisle stretches ahead of them and out of all the buildings in this town this looks like the one in the best shape. Every pew looks bright and polished, no cracks marring the wooden surface. There are colors cast upon the floor from the stained glass windows above them and they are bright and vibrant still, even with the sun shadowed and dark. She hears the cocking of guns a second before someone lowers a shotgun towards Frankie’s head. They come from either side of the door and within a second there are five men moving around them and ushering them into the building. All of them wear crosses around their necks and all of them look angry and scared. “Let go of the father and raise your hands,” the one in front says. “Son of a bitch,” Adrian growls. One of the men moves behind him and forces his arms away from Evan, making him lift them up in the air. “Fuck Frankie, see what happens when you can’t just play nice?” “I was playing nice,” he says. He still has his gun pressed under the man’s throat even though he’s got one eye on the shotgun next to his head. He smirks and she can see the wheels turning in his head while he thinks about pulling the trigger anyway. He licks his lips and then she sees his gaze flick behind him. Nicky’s eyes are wide and he looks at Frankie for guidance even as he lifts his hands over his head. CC does as they say calmly, though she can hear a small sigh leave his lips. She wonders if he’s getting tired of having guns pointed at his face, because she sure is. She wavers on her feet as soon as her brother’s arm leaves her back. Then Frankie sighs and lifts his gun away from the father. As soon as he does the man pulls away, turning and walking backwards quickly away from Frankie. He pulls the bible out and presses it to his chest, licking his lips and studying them carefully. A smile tries to pull at his lips but it dies just as quickly. “You should have just taken the medicine and left,” he says. Then he lifts his head and he sounds like he’s giving a death sentence. “Put them down with Satan’s child,” he orders. One of the men next to her sucks in a breath. He’s watching her face like he feels sorry for her, his hair tousled and eyes a stark blue. She has a hard time focusing on the others because her vision is half what it used to be. “Father,” he says. “Are you sure?” The priest hesitates and then he nods his head at CC. “They travel with servants of the Devil,” he says. “They are already damned.” The man next to Evan sucks in a breath and his gaze softens. “May God have mercy on you,” he says quietly. Evan rolls her eyes. “Fuck you,” she spits back. Wenston They take away their guns and lead them towards a heavy, tightly locked door at the back of the cathedral. CC keeps his hands up and his mouth shut, even though he wants to point out to Frankie that the man had said something like that wouldn’t happen again because the last time he’d been caught by surprise. CC wonders what the excuse this time is because he doesn’t think this should have happened. They get shoved through the doors without another word, but CC sees one of the men cross himself before the door shuts behind him. It’s almost pitch black in the catacombs and a stairwell lies ahead of them, lit only by a few burning torches along the wall and CC thinks a torch is high inefficient to light a room. He also thinks that the SC666 specimen that’s down here has to be well enough and smart enough to keep torches lit. He wonders if he’s frightened by that. “So what’s the plan?” Nicky asks, his voice trying to sound confident but he fails miserably at it. CC turns to look at them and Adrian has an arm wrapped around Evan’s waist again, but the man reaches out to squeeze Nicky’s shoulder in reassurance. Frankie isn’t saying much, he’s looking back at the doors and he looks antsy and angry without his guns. “The fuck should I know?” Frankie snaps. Then he turns around and points at CC. “You couldn’t have taken those guys out? What the fuck happened to the badass killing machine that took out Meridian?” CC merely shrugs. “I did not feel compelled to do so,” he tells the man honestly and it earns him a hearty laugh. “You weren’t compelled to save our asses?” Frankie says and shakes his head before shoving CC to the side and starting to head down the stairwell. CC follows closely behind and feels something like trepidation as they descend the stairs. “Why not? Didn’t feel your chances of getting shot or chewed on by freaks was high enough?” CC frowns slightly. “I would rather avoid both of those scenarios,” he says. Frankie snorts, but then pauses at the bottom of the stairs as a noise makes its way up from the depths of the catacombs. His hands ball into fists and behind him, Nicky moves a step closer to Evan and Adrian. Evan reaches a hand out to touch Nicky’s arm and let him know she’s there and CC feels something like protectiveness swell in his chest. He descends the stairs to stand next to Frankie and peers down the darkened stone halls. “So tell me about Satan’s Child,” Frankie says, grinning and chuckling afterwards. CC frowns. “I do not believe she is actually the child of the devil,” he says and Frankie glances at him sidelong but doesn’t say anything. CC tips his head to the side at something moving in the shadows at the end of the hall. “She is gifted,” he says simply. “So you’ve said,” Frankie says, his voice growing irritated. “Gifted how? Like, playing Beethoven and Bach blindfolded gifted or…” CC doesn’t give him a chance to finish. His hand snaps out and shoves Frankie in the chest, pushing him backwards where he stumbles up the steps and CC stands in front of him with a short, “Get back.” Frankie doesn’t even have time to protest before the shadow at the end of the hall is galloping up through the dark and the round rings of light from the torches. She moves on all fours. She’s wearing a torn white dress stained with grit, soil and blood, both red and black. Her hair is dark and stringy around her face, and her skin nearly as pale as her dress. She moves faster than she should and the four legged gallop is natural on her. She comes up quickly and CC holds his ground as she skids to a stop in front of them, standing up straight. Her eyes are a piercing white iris with only a dark grey pupil in the middle. She’s got blood at the corners of her mouth and her face is pinched, like it’s been pulled tight across her bones. Her teeth are jagged and crooked and she hisses at him as she stands before him, reaching only up to his chest. “What the fuck?” Frankie snaps and moves to kick out at her or punch her, but CC steps between the two, because he sees her head tip towards the man and he doesn’t think Frankie realizes how dangerous the SC specimens are, especially without Hitch or restraints. CC reaches back and shoves Frankie away again and he hears the man growl but he doesn’t’ have a gun so he’s not afraid of being shot. SC666 snarls at him and shoves CC’s waist a little. She’s remarkably strong and CC takes a step backwards, but keeps himself between her and the others. “Jesus Christ,” he hears Evan hiss. “She’s a freak,” Nicky whispers and he moves closer to Evan for protection. CC still finds their dynamics interesting. SC666 growls and tips her head around CC to look at Nicky. “I am Tabitha,” she tells him angrily and spits black bile at him. Adrian grabs Nicky’s shirt and yanks him backwards before it can hit him. “Tabitha,” CC says, drawing the specimen’s eyes back to him. “I am CC.” Tabitha’s eyes narrow and she shoves at his waist again. CC takes a step up on the stairs and then comes back down, not wanting to show her she can push him around or weakness. “No designations,” she snarls and her hands come up to claw viciously at the scars on her neck where she’s scratched off her own designation tattoo. CC nods his head and pauses before he says, “Carl.” “Carl,” Tabitha repeats and looks at the others. CC makes sure to block her vision of the Starks as best he can. “What the fuck is this shit?” Frankie snaps and Tabitha’s head whips towards him. She spits out at him, but CC steps in front of it and it splatters his shirt instead. “Carl, is she a freak or what the hell?” CC shakes his head and doesn’t think this is the appropriate time to discuss that, at least not in front of her. “She is Tabitha,” he says calmly and the girl tilts her head to the side to regard him. Her face curls into a wicked smile and she giggles, clapping her hands together. CC hears Nicky make a small whimpering noise behind him and he does think the girl would be frightening in context. She leaps forward and wraps her arms around CC’s midsection. “Carl,” she says, lovingly. CC pats her head and she nuzzles her head against his chest. Then she pulls away and laughs, turning around and falling to all fours, galloping back into the darkness. CC tries to watch her, but she disappears into the shadows and he’s uncertain if she’s gone or just hiding there. Frankie takes a step forward and shoves CC’s shoulder. “You know, this is getting old, what the fuck was that thing?” he demands. CC glances over at him and he’s not sure how to respond. “Is she dangerous?” Adrian asks and there is something strange in his voice. CC turns around and looks at the man and he looks more disturbed than frightened. CC wonders if Adrian sees himself in Tabitha a little. Perhaps something he could turn into if they do not reach the city on time. CC isn’t sure what to tell him either. He doesn’t get a chance to say anything. In the next moment, Tabitha is bolting back up the hallway. CC just has time to turn around before he feels something sharp and awful stab itself into his ankle, hooking into him. He hears Frankie curse and the others gasp and then he’s going down as his ankle is being pulled out from beneath him. He hears Tabitha say, “Mine,” and he rolls over onto his stomach, trying to reach for the steps to grasp onto something. He feels Frankie’s hands barely brush his arms before he’s suddenly being pulled backwards at an alarming rate. He tries to grasp Frankie’s outstretched hand, but their fingers just slide across each other and he claws at the ground as he’s yanked down the stone hallway. The Starks disappear into the darkness quickly and CC crashes into a wall, dazed, but they don’t stop as he’s yanked around a corner and further down. He wonders if Frankie will consider this wandering off. .Wolfie. Frankie takes off down the hallway after CC and as much as Evan would love to follow her brother she doesn’t think she can run at the moment. He’s letting loose a string of curses and she hears Adrian echo them next to her because he’s in no shape to go charging off into the darkness either. Nicky starts to chase after Frankie and Evan just tightens her hand on his shoulder because the last thing she needs is to lose her little brother too. She isn’t sure just what kind of anything Tabitha is, whether she’s human or freak or something else, but she’s not going to risk Nicky’s neck on it even if Frankie is stomping off ahead of them.“Son of a bitch,” Adrian growls. His hand tightens around her waist and she ignores the weakness and pain that lingers in her bones. She tries to keep pace with her brother as they hurry down the hallway after Frankie and CC and she’s got a weird sensation of fear building in her gut. She can’t tell if she’s just scared that they’ll lose the only chance she has to save her brother or if she’s scared that CC’s going to get hurt. The first makes sense, the second feels foreign and unfamiliar but she thinks its there anyway. “Frankie!” Nicky yells into the shadows, because they can’t see the eldest Stark anymore. Evan tries to get her muscles to move and she doesn’t like how week she feels. She doesn’t like that they’re trapped down here without guns or knives and there’s something that’s got CC. She doesn’t like that she can’t see her brother anymore and she can feel Adrian trembling next to her. The darkness is thick and oppressive and she can hear noises echoing along the wall. The first she thinks is her brother’s boots on the floor, the second is the monster that is Tabitha as her nails scrabble against the ground and that one scares her. Evan is terrified, and she doesn’t like the feeling, not one fucking bit. She can still hear Frankie cursing but she can’t see him anymore and that scares her more than she’s willing to admit. They hurry down the hallway after her brother and CC and she keeps thinking about Tabitha as they do. She doesn’t know what she is. She thinks she’s a freak and if she is she’s the scariest one they’ve ever come across. She’s still intelligent even if she’s warped by the blood inside her and she wonders if Adrian will be anything like that if they can’t save him. They round the corner and Nicky runs straight into Frankie’s back. He cries out and lands hard on his ass because his brother is still and he isn’t moving. The catacombs are dark and shadowed in front of them but if Evan squints it helps her eyes adjust and she can see what her brother is staring at. She sucks in a breath and she understands why they think she is the child of Satan. There are bodies already down here. Their bones lie shoved in ever corner and she shivers when she sees the flickering light glance off dead eyes. She wonders who these people used to be, if they were sent down here to try and kill her or if they’ve been here even longer than that. There is a scream from ahead of her and Adrian curses again, his arm tightening around her waist as he drags her forward. Nicky is running ahead of them and she doesn’t like it when his shoulder twists and he ducks out from under her grasp. He darts towards the end of the room, the light playing across his pale face before he ducks around the corner. In a second she sees him back up and then she hears Frankie’s booming voice as it bounces off the wall. “You okay son?” he says. There is concern in his voice and that almost surprises Evan. Adrian helps her forward and they’re just rounding the corner to see Frankie helping CC into a sitting position against the wall. The hand on his shoulder won’t let him get up and her brother is scanning him quickly for injuries. There is blood pulsing from a puncture wound in his ankle and Evan doesn’t even ask how Frankie got that out of the man’s skin. He probably ripped it out with his bare hands if she knows her brother at all. He grips CC’s chin firmly and twists his head so that he can look at his head in the light and she doesn’t see anything but old blood on his face. “I have only sustained the one injury,” CC tells him. He bends his knee and presses his foot down against the floor before he shakes his head. “It runs deep but it should heal over time. I do not believe it will hider my movement, however it is still bleeding out.” Frankie cusses and he doesn’t call the man on how calm he is while he talks about his own injury. He yanks CC’s foot roughly into his lap and tears a strip off his own shirt to try and bind it. Even as he wraps the fabric around his ankle his head is lifting and he’s scanning the corners of the hallway and looking down towards the end of it. “Any sign of where the bitch went?” he demands sharply, glancing back down at CC. If Frankie notices the slight change of expression than he doesn’t acknowledge it in the least. “I am not sure where Tabitha went,” CC says. Evan doesn’t miss that the man refers to her by her name only and she keeps wondering what it means that the girl is special. She wonders what special is to a person like CC because it could probably mean vastly different things. As much as she doesn’t want to, she leans her shoulder against the wall as Adrian pulls away from him. “What the hell is she?” he asks, crouching down next to CC. He grasps his shoulder but it’s meant to be a comforting motion, not a demanding one and the man seems to take it as such. “She’s a freak, right?” Nicky says quickly. “She looks like a freak. Man, those guys are assholes putting us down here with her.” “Yeah, well maybe if Frankie could have kept his gun in his pants for once then we wouldn’t be in this situation. I think it’s funny how often I find myself saying that.” Adrian glances over his shoulder at his older brother as he says the words and Evan smirks because it’s not the first time her brother’s gun has gotten them into trouble. She means that in every sense of the word and she’s sure that Adrian does too. They got chased out of town by an angry husband and his shotgun once thanks to Frankie’s gun. Her older brother just snorts and points his finger at Adrian’s face. “You’re just mad I ain’t saying it about you,” he tells Adrian, and then he pushes himself to his feet. She can tell Frankie feels naked without a gun and she can’t blame him because she feels the same way. She is leaning harder against the wall than she means to and when Frankie glances back at her he notices. He takes a step back towards her and then he’s pulling the bottle of painkillers out and tossing them towards her over his shoulder. Her fingers are thick and clumsy as she tries to catch them but she manages it, popping the top off. “Thanks,” she says dryly. Frankie grins and maybe he’s about to say something else when they hear the crying start. They go still, eyes flicking off down the hallway and they can’t see anything in the oppressive darkness. Especially not Evan, because one of her eyes is dead and the other’s having a hard time focusing on anything. Her head is still spinning and the wall is the only thing propping her up right now. If her body had its way she’d be sitting on the ground right now next to CC and she wonders if the man will be able to walk with that giant hole in his skin or if he’s going to have a limp for the rest of his days. “What is that?” Nicky asks, and she doesn’t mistake the fear in his voice. Evan doesn’t give him a choice, reaching out and grasping his shoulder to pull him into a hug. He goes easily into her arms, sliding an arm around her back and his eyes close even as the sound grows louder. It is echoing and horrid, bouncing off the walls in sad, desperate sobs and she knows it is Tabitha. What she doesn’t know is how freaks could cry or even if they had any reason to. She thought they were all just dead men turned to monsters. “Carl,” Frankie says. “What the fuck is she?” He glances over at the man and CC is staring at the wall, listening carefully to the girl’s cries. She wonders if he feels any kind of kinship with that thing and if he does than he shouldn’t because she’s twisted beyond belief. “She is special,” he says simply. The crying turns into laughter and in the next moment they can hear her voice, clear as day. It echoes above them and Evan wonders if she is crawling across the ceiling over their heads. “Carl,” she says. “Where did you go Carl? Do you want to play hide and seek with me?” She giggles afterwards and even Frankie grows stiff at the words, glancing down at CC with wide eyes. The man struggles to his feet and Frankie’s hand comes out to grasp his arm and hold him upright. Evan is surprised at that motion, as she is everything Frankie has done for CC lately. He’s acting like he’s one of his brothers and not just a thing. She doesn’t know what to think of it but as long as it keeps hope for her brother alive than she’s not going to argue. She’s scared to start to like CC because any day now Frankie could get bored and shoot the man in the head, but she’s starting to think that day won’t come. “Carl,” the girl cries, and the sound is desperate and sad. She can hear something moving on the ceiling above her and she pulls Nicky tighter into her arms so that she can protect him if she has to. “Don’t you want to play a game with me?” “Tabitha,” Carl says. “Maybe we could just talk for a while?” There is a rattling hiss over their head and it doesn’t sound like anything human. Then a dark shadow drops from the ceiling. It strikes Frankie in the chest first and he shouts in surprise as it knocks him to the ground. Then the girl is throwing herself on CC, arms sliding around his waist as her face hovers inches from his. “No,” she says, shaking her head. “No talking.” She grins and she rests her head against his shoulder before her nails tighten against his chest. “Now you run." Wenston CC remains calm as her nails tighten on his chest. He keeps his eyes on Tabitha and beside him, Frankie is cursing up a storm as he tries to pull himself back to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, CC can see Frankie’s hand curl around something lying on the ground. He thinks it’s a bone from a corpse and he finds Frankie’s ability to use anything as a weapon fascinating.“I will not run,” he tells Tabitha steadily and the girl lifts her head from his shoulder to narrow her eyes at him. CC holds his ground, even as he can feel her nails tighten into his skin. “I do not want to play with you, Tabitha,” he tells her. She screams at him suddenly and shoves him back against the wall. His head cracks into the stone and he thinks he’s about to get torn into, but then Frankie is swinging the bone at Tabitha and it strikes her violently in the side of the head. She crumples to the side and lands on the ground with a groan. CC stays leaned against the wall for a moment, looking down at her because he’s unsure if the blow should have taken her down that easily. He seems to think she knew it was coming. Blood blossoms on the side of her head and mats her dark hair to her face. Frankie steps forward and raises the bone over his head to try and club her again with it, but she suddenly lashes out. Her hands swipe towards Frankie and CC can hear Adrian yell for his brother, but he’s already moving. He’s already darting forward to intercept. His ankle protests violently and it nearly topples him, unable to truly hold his weight, but he ignores that fact and compensates and moves. He catches Tabitha’s arm and yanks her towards him and away from Frankie. The girl starts fighting back viciously. And CC counters whatever he can. He wonders if being able to fight is a part of retaining hidden memories or an instinctual, built in thing. He doesn’t remember any formal training. He doesn’t really consciously think about the moves he makes. He just moves. It’s like his body is reacting. Like startling at a loud noise or blinking when something flies at your face. It’s just reaction. It’s just instinct. They fight, and this time, the moves feel militaristic. He blocks and dodges and swings but the moves feel defensive and tactical. Tabitha’s moves are the same and he wonders if they were trained by the same person or at least the same organization with similar fighting styles. CC backs up from the others on purpose. His ankle is making him limp and stumble, but he moves pass it. He doesn’t want the Starks to get hurt and it surprises him the ferocity with which he realizes that. He’s unsure why the feeling is so intense, because he’s only just gotten to know them. He can’t help but think it might have something to do with his dream and Ethan Stark. He still thinks he knew the man. So perhaps he knew of the man’s children as well. It seems like a small world if that is true. Frankie doesn’t let CC take full control over the situation this time. He runs after them, swinging the bone at Tabitha. She turns quickly, catching the bone in her hand before yanking it out of his. Then she swings it back at him and Frankie manages to dodge the first swing, but not the second and it cracks into his skull with a smack, sending the man sprawling to the ground, blood seeping from his temple. “Frankie!” Adrian and Evan yell at the same time. They both rush forward, Evan shoving Nicky behind her. CC sees Tabitha’s attention turn to them and he makes his move when she’s not watching. He leaps forward, grabbing a fistful of her hair, yanking her head back and wrapping an arm around her neck. Tabitha lets out a scream and lashes back at him, her nails tearing gouges in his arm. But he pushes himself forward and smashes her up against the wall, pinning her there with his knee in her back and one arm around her neck and the other holding one of her arms up behind her back. “Tabitha, please,” CC tries. The girl growls and tries to shove off the wall, but CC just presses harder. It only makes her more angry and she spits out, “You are not playing fair, Carl!” CC’s eyes narrow at her. “I am not playing,” he tells her. “I am eliminating a threat.” Tabitha suddenly starts to laugh and it’s awful and frightening sounding. “A threat?” she giggles. Then the giggling turns into growling and then crying and she screams out, “You are the threat!” She tries to lash out again, but CC keeps her pinned. He looks out of the corner of his eye at Frankie and the others. Adrian and Evan and kneeling over Frankie, who is still on the ground. Adrian pats his cheeks and the man groans, but doesn’t wake. “I am no threat,” CC tells her. “I made the suggestion of talking. You are the one who drew blood.” Tabitha laughs. “So, so delicious,” she says. Adrian, still kneeled over Frankie, turns to look at them over his shoulder. “CC, take her out, we need to get out of here.” CC nods his head and tightens his arms around her neck, ready to snap it, when he hears the quiet words come from her mouth. “Grace.” The word strikes something in him and he pauses. He pauses and makes the mistake of loosening his grip and when her head snaps back into his face, he isn’t expecting it. He stumbles backwards, blood seeping from his nose and his lips and he feels her kick him square in the chest. Something in his side cracks and he falls back, slipping down the wall to the floor. He is blinded and dumb for a minute and he’s aware of the Starks yelling, but he can’t get himself to focus. He just hears that word over and over again. It has meaning to him and he thinks its beyond religion and beyond belief. He thinks it’s personal and there is a memory on the outskirts of his mind that he can’t quite grasp related to the word. But he can’t see it and he can’t reach out and reel it in. He can only sit there and try to remember. It doesn’t work and the world around him spins and darkens and for a while, he’s not really sure of what’s going on. He doesn’t come back to awareness until something smacks him across the face and he blinks, the world falling back into place around him. He looks up and Frankie’s crouched in front of him, which CC finds odd because the man had been out on the floor the last he’d seen him. But now he’s crouched and there’s blood on the side of his face and Adrian and Evan are antsy and CC realizes all of a sudden that Tabitha is nowhere to be seen. And neither is Nicky. “Come on, you fucker,” Frankie spits. “We’re going after that bitch and I’m ripping her fucking throat,” he snarls. Tabitha’s voice echoes along the walls for a moment as she says, “Come and find me! Come and find me and baby!” Frankie doesn’t wait for CC to respond or climb to his feet. He’s marching off down the halls and Evan and Adrian follow him, though Adrian pauses to look over his shoulder at him. CC pushes himself up and he wavers for a second. He’s despondent and distant but he knows Tabitha has Nicky and the others won’t wait. H doesn’t blame them. .Wolfie. “I’m never listening to your stupid ass again,” Frankie snarls over his shoulder. “If we’d just come in here and fucking shot the preacher than we wouldn’t be playing hide and seek with a crazy bitch in the basement. There’s no fucking point playing nice out here.” The words are directed at Adrian and there’s more venom in them than there would be normally. He’s got his back to them and he’s hurrying down the hallway unmindful of the blood still trickling down the side of his head or the fact that he’s carrying a human bone in one hand. Evan knows he’s just worried about Nicky and her brother deals with everything by getting mean.She doesn’t tell him that maybe if he’d kept his gun in his pants for once then they wouldn’t be in this situation, but she tightens her grip around Adrian’s waist so he knows she’s thinking it. He looks sad and scared as he follows after Frankie and she doesn’t miss how he trembles when he runs a hand over his face. Evan is just trying to ignore the throbbing in her head or the blood soaking through the gauze over her eye. She’s more concerned about her little brother. Nicky’s just a kid. Doesn’t matter to her if he’s old enough to drink and smoke and soldier, he’s still a kid and she’ll never stop being able to think of him like that. He’s her responsibility and her heart is racing with fear thinking he’s going to get hurt. CC brings up the rear and she doesn’t look back at him. They were stupid to trust him so quickly and she knows it and she thinks Frankie knows it. It has nothing to do with whether or not he’s on their side because he’s proved that. It has everything to do with the fact that he’s a fucking science experiment and as far as they know he’s got a switch on the back of his neck to shut him off. They don’t know. They don’t know anything and he can’t tell them anything so she stops thinking about it for the moment. “Nicky!” Frankie howls. His fist lashes out and slams into the wall next to him as his temper starts to slip away from him. “You bring my brother back here you stupid fucking bitch!” His voice is harsh and angry as he yells the words. In her experience, most people do what Frankie wants when he’s mad. He’s terrifying and it doesn’t matter if he’s got a gun or a knife or a god damned bone, the man’s a monster. He thunders down a small flight of stairs, one hand staying on the wall because the only light down here is from the flickering torches and it is weak and fluttering in Frankie’s wake. The words don’t have the effect he wants. Tabitha just laughs at him. They can hear it echoing off the wall and she doesn’t know if her brother is unconscious or even alive but she doesn’t hear him among the noise. All she hears is that girl, giggling from somewhere ahead of them and then she hears her start to sing. It is high and lilting and terrifying as it bounces off the stones around them and she can see Frankie’s knuckles turning white around the bone. “Ring around the rosy, pockets full of posy, ashes, ashes, we all fall down.” “Jesus,” Adrian breathes. “That is creepy as fuck.” Evan snorts and she can’t help but agree with her brother. They duck under the archway and she glances back once to make sure CC’s still there. His eyes are open but they are a thousand miles away and she wonders what the girl said to him and what it meant to him. She doesn’t understand why he’d stopped and she doesn’t like that it made him effectively comatose or that they lost Nicky. She likes that least of all. “Come and find us!” Tabitha calls. She giggles afterwards and Frankie snarls low in his throat in response. They are in an old catacomb, tombs lining either side of them and she imagines they hold the bodies of supposed saints. There’s no such thing as saints out here but she imagines the men walking the ground above them will hold any pious asshole up as high as they can towards the sun so that they can keep believing in God. She doesn’t know who they are and she doesn’t care. All she cares about is that her brother is getting farther away from him and she doesn’t know what kind of shape he’s in, only that his blood is on the floor. Frankie snarls and his steps down slow for anything. Not even when Adrian starts to cough and gag next to Evan. Frankie doesn’t even turn around so she’s the one that pauses and wraps her arms around her brother’s waist. “Adrian,” she says quietly. He shivers and then he coughs again and it’s violent and ragged and wet. His fingers dig tightly into her shoulders and she can feel his whole body trembling and sweating next to her. The fear is growing in her chest, wrapping its hands around her heart and making it constrict tightly within her rib cage. She holds Adrian because his knees are starting to give out underneath him. Black is splattering the ground underneath them and it is all coming from her brother’s lungs. A growl leaves Frankie’s throat and she glances up to him for a moment because he has finally paused. Even still, his feet carry him backwards and he gestures a hand at her before he looks past her to CC. “Evan, get him under control, Carl, get your ass over here.” He barks the orders at them, his face contorted in anger and he’s already turning around to take off farther into the darkness where Tabitha waits with Nicky. “Frankie,” CC starts to say. Evan doesn’t know what he’s going to say after that because he never gets the chance. Frankie whirls on him, pointing a finger towards his face and a snarl curling his lips. The blood on the side of his head just makes it worse. “You going to do what I say Carl, or do I have to put a bullet through your fucking eyes when we get out of here?” Adrian coughs and shakes next to her but at the words his hands tighten around her waist and he tries to pull himself upright. “Frankie,” he snaps. He sucks in a harsh breath of air and it sounds painful and rough going down and worse as it comes back out. He gags just trying to breathe and starts coughing again. He spits something dark onto the floor and tips his head to the side so that he can look at his older brother. “It’s not his fault,” he manages. Frankie is growling and he looks mean and wild for a moment. Evan wonders just how hard he hit his head. His mouth opens and she doesn’t know what he’s going to say because something suddenly thumps against the cover to one of the tombs next to him. Evan jerks in surprise and pulls Adrian tighter against her and Frankie just turns his glare on that. It softens at the second thump and the small moan that follows and then he’s stepping forward towards the stone tomb. “Nicky?” he calls. He licks his lips and tightens his grip around the human bone in his hand, tilting his head to look at the stone. They hear muffled noises from inside and something scratching along the stone. It sounds like moaning or crying but Evan doesn’t think it’s her brother. Her heart is trying to crawl out of her chest and she feels light fingers on her arm as CC moves past her towards Frankie. “I do not believe that is the youngest Stark,” he says quietly. Frankie stiffens and glances back at him but after a moment the anger fades from his face and he looks back at the tomb without saying anything. The stone rattles and shifts again and Frankie’s lip curls at it before he stalks back across the floor. He grasps Evan tightly by the arm and pulls both of them towards the exit on the other side. He keeps himself between them and the tomb that is now rattling and moving, the sound of nails scrabbling at the inside echoing loudly. Somewhere ahead of them Evan can hear the girl giggling and it is intensifying the fear already in her gut. Adrian shakes next to her and she can see his face contorted in pain. His hands have a bruising grip on her but she doesn’t say anything about it. She glances back just in time to see fingers appearing at the edge of the tomb. There are eyes glowing from the shadows and they are gold and unearthly. As soon as Evan sees them the moaning stops. There are fingers protruding from underneath the coffin’s lid and they are gnarled and broken and inhuman. “Go,” Frankie snarls, shoving them towards the door. Then he turns around and brings the bone down hard on the fingers. The room fills with loud howling and the sound of cracking bone. The hand is yanked back within the coffin and Frankie doesn’t wait for it to try and escape again. He yanks the mask over his mouth and then his boot comes up and he shoves the lid off of it with a loud crash before he brings the bone down again. Evan doesn’t get a good look at what the freak looks like. She sees rotted, stretched skin and a mouth full of yellowed teeth and then all she sees is blood as her brother bashes its skull in. When he turns around there is black splattered across the mask on his face. He doesn’t look like he notices it. He storms past them with darkness in his gaze and the bone still in his hand and covered with blood. His is scabbing on his head and he doesn’t look like he notices or cares. “Nicky!” he howls down into the darkness, and then he disappears through the door. The giggling hasn’t stopped the whole time and it doesn’t, not until they pass down the hallway and reach a room near the end of it. They almost walk passed it but the laughter ceases while they’re in the doorway and it makes Frankie freeze. There is a quiet whimpering and he turns his head to the side. Frankie sucks in a breath and he’s already moving before Evan gets to the doorway. CC is on the other side of Adrian, helping support both of their weights, but as soon as they reach the door he lets her brother go. She grasps at Adrian’s shoulders to try and keep them both upright and she doesn’t understand why he’s moving in front of her until she looks over his shoulder and then she sees her kid brother, his eyes wide and scared but alive. He is tied to a chair. There is a gag in his mouth and punctures in his shoulder. They are bleeding red onto his shirt and she hears a strangled noise leave her own throat because one brother dying slowly from a freak disease is bad enough. She meets Nicky’s gaze and he is terrified. His skin is pale and he is sweating, hands flexing against the chair he’s tied to. “He’s beautiful,” the girl says. She smiles afterwards and then she looks up towards the ceiling. “Almost as pretty as my other pets.” Evan doesn’t like those words. She doesn’t like the sob that comes from her kid brother’s throat or the tears making their way down his face but more than any of it she doesn’t like the skittering noise she hears from above them. She can hear Frankie snarling as he moves forward but her head tips upwards so she can see. There is firelight dancing along the walls and it tries to crawl up towards the ceiling where dark things wait. “Frankie,” she hisses, hand tightening on Adrian’s shoulder. They probably used to be human, children if she has to guess. Now they have strings tying their wrists and their ankles like puppets and they remind her of spiders as they crawl down the walls towards them. Wenston Frankie is cursing. It’s just a constant stream of words and some of them CC can recognize but most of them just sound made up. CC doesn’t tell Frankie that those words aren’t in the dictionary or familiar to him, because he thinks the man is mad at him. He thinks all of them are mad at him and he doesn’t exactly understand how that makes him feel. Sad, maybe, but he doesn’t know what that feels like. Upset or frustrated possibly. He doesn’t want to be a disappointment. The thought strikes him suddenly that it was the same way in the lab and his eyes shoot to Tabitha. She’d been a part of the same labs he had. He doesn’t think he’d ever met her, but he knows the letter significance of her designation and he thinks maybe she had felt the same thing in there that he had. Being outside the labs, he knows now it was irrational to not want to disappoint the scientists, because why should he please them? But it had been a part of him. When he’d fail an experiment, when he couldn’t perform to their standards, he’d disappoint them and it was an undesired emotion. He thinks maybe Tabitha knows what that is. And he thinks maybe that’s what could break her. Frankie doesn’t pause for more than a moment to look up at the freaks climbing down the walls. Then he’s racing forward and reaching Nicky, his hands pulling at the bindings around his wrists. Nicky is sobbing he is so scared and when Frankie is close enough, he rests his head on Frankie’s shoulder to try and hid within his older brother. CC notes that Frankie doesn’t make fun of him for it or call him weak or pathetic like he would the others and once again, he finds the Starks’ protectiveness of their youngest to be interesting. Tabitha frowns at Frankie for a moment before she starts moving towards him and behind him, he can hear Evan and Adrian curse. CC sucks in a breath and his face evens out and he’s calm when he says to her, “You’re a disappointment.” The words have the desired effect he was looking for. Frankie’s head snaps over his shoulder to glare at CC, hands still tugging at Nicky’s bindings. When he sees CC isn’t looking at him, he turns back, eyes the freaks still making their way slowly down the wall and then pulls the gag out of Nicky’s mouth. The youngest Stark lets out a terrified sob and says, “I’m sorry Frankie,” in a hoarse voice. “Shut up,” Frankie says, though it lacks any real bite. “You’re gonna be fine, kid.” Nicky nods and believes him. But it’s not them that CC’s words had the effect he was looking for on. Tabitha pauses in her motions towards Frankie and turns to slowly look at CC over her shoulder, her black hair tangled and matted around her face. “Carl,” she drawls, eyes narrowing. “That’s not nice.” CC lifts his head and steps in front of Evan and Adrian. Adrian has started coughing again and Evan is trying her hardest to keep him and herself upright. CC tips his head to the side to regard Tabitha and he shakes his head, mimicking the movement the scientists used to do. “I am highly disappointed in your progress,” he says, the same way a scientist had once said to him and he sees Tabitha stiffen, her face darkening. “Of all the specimens, I thought you would be successful. And here you are, nothing but a failure.” “Be quiet!” Tabitha screams, shaking her whole body, her fists clenched at her sides. “Be quiet, I am not a failure!” CC nods his head. “Yes you are,” he says calmly and Tabitha shakes her head side to side, her hair whipping about. Her hands come up to cover her face as she screams. It doesn’t even faze CC. “You know what happens to failures, SC666,” he says and at the designation she screams and stomps her foot on the ground. “They get thrown out with the trash. They are just garbage. You are just garbage.” The last words break her. She screams and launches herself at CC. Behind her, CC can see that Frankie has gotten Nicky free and just in time, as one of the freaks pounces towards them from the wall. Frankie swings the bone like a baseball bat at the freak and it bashes its face in, flinging it’s body to the floor. Frankie grabs the back of Nicky’s neck and they start running towards Evan and Adrian as the other freaks follow. Tabitha collides with CC and they go down in a heap. CC is quickly to recover, his legs wrapping around her smaller body and his hands digging into the sides of her head. She is clawing and scratching at him and he can feel bloody rends opening up on his face and neck. She’s clawing at the designation tattooed onto his neck and he rolls over, pinning her to the ground, hands moving to around her neck. “Behind you!” Adrian croaks out. CC doesn’t turn around and he thinks maybe he’s about to get attacked, but then Frankie is running back and using the bone as a club to hit away the freak that had launched itself at him. Adrian comes forward, shaky on his feet and grabs one of the torches off the wall. Behind them, Nicky has run to Evan, who has her arms wrapped around her youngest brother, stroking on through his hair and with the other, checking out the wounds on his shoulders. They look superficial and CC thinks Tabitha had made them with the same thing that hooked his ankle. He hopes it keeps the youngest uninfected. “Don’t kill me, please,” Tabitha cries, her voice choked and strangled as CC squeezes her neck. Behind him, Frankie and Adrian are swinging their weapons at the freaks. They are slow moving and at a high disadvantage up against the Starks. Although a few of them get some scratches in on Adrian, who is moving slow and still coughing, even as he fights. “I am sorry,” CC tells Tabitha and he only squeezes harder. The girl squirms beneath him and he remains calm as he chokes the life out of her. She looks up at him with wide eyes that don’t look quite like a freaks anymore and for a moment, CC thinks about having mercy. He thinks about the man he left alive when he’d gone for spare parts for the GPS. This is different. She’d tried to hurt the Starks. She wasn’t human anymore. “…but…Grace…” Tabitha chokes and CC almost zones out again. He almost lets up and loosens his grip but he keeps himself grounded because if that word meant anything to him, he’s already established that he doesn’t remember. Frankie must think he’s not resisting it, because he says, “Fucking Christ, Carl, kill her. Who gives a fuck who Grace is, if she’s you’re wife, she’s fucking dead.” Something snaps inside CC and then he’s yelling and lifting Tabitha by the neck. He lets go with one hand to fist his fingers in her hair and he begins bashing her head back into the concrete. Tabitha cries out but CC doesn’t stop. He doesn’t recognize this burning in his chest and he doesn’t recognize the quiet name echoing in the back of his mind. Grace. He hadn’t thought it was a name until Frankie had said something. Still, he doesn’t think it is his wife. That doesn’t seem right. But he doesn’t know. He bashes Tabitha’s head against the ground until she stops crying. He bashes it until there’s blood soaking him and the floor. He keeps bashing it and he hears growling and cries and it takes him a moment to realize they’re his own. He doesn’t stop hitting her head against the floor until he feels a hand on his shoulder, trying to tug him backwards and he reacts out of instinct again. He whirls, grabbing the arm on his shoulder and he shoves Frankie back up against the wall, hauling his fist back and hitting him square in the face. The man stumbles to the side and after he does, CC realizes what he’s done. He lets go of Frankie and takes a few steps backwards, breathing heavily and there is something wet that isn’t blood and isn’t sweat streaking his cheeks. Frankie looks up at him. His eyes are wide and he has one hand on his cheekbone, the other tightened around the bone in his hands. The freaks and Tabitha are dead on the ground around them and CC glances towards the others, who are wide eyed as they look at him. Adrian looks concerned, but Evan has her arms still around Nicky and they are looking at him oddly, in a way he can’t read. He looks back at Frankie, who smirk and draws his hand away from his cheek. “Hell of a right hook you got there,” he drawls, grinning and waggling his eyebrows. CC swallows and his face goes back to being impassive and calm. He feels whatever burning sensation that had been in his chest ebb away and he ducks his head. “Forgive me,” he says quickly and then turns and brushes pass the others, out the door. He doesn’t know exactly where he’s going. Maybe back to the entrance because they’d killed the thing the villagers had tossed them to. He isn’t exactly sure what to think or what to do because he’s unsure what had really happened. He thinks of Grace and there’s no face he can place with that name. There’s no memories or emotions, there’s just that soft name in a soft voice and he feels pain in his gut when he thinks it. He feels stinging in his eyes and he just marches his way back towards the entrance to the catacombs and he knows the Starks will be coming shortly so when he reaches the door he leans against the wall and slides to a sitting position, wrapping his arms around his knees and resting his chin against his knees. He just waits there and he tries to remember Grace. He tries to remember anything and when he can’t he feels pain in his chest again and he thinks he knows what it is. He thinks it’s fear. .Wolfie. “What the hell was that?” Adrian asks quietly. He moves slowly and gingerly back to Evan’s side and she keeps her arms around Nicky. She’s got one hand on the top of his head and the other wrapped around his waist as she holds onto her kid brother. He’s trembling and they all pretend he doesn’t have tears staining his face and blood covering his chest. At this point she doesn’t care that he’s bleeding all over her because if Nicky’s infected now then she might as well be too.“Lost his fucking mind, that’s what,” Frankie says. He snorts afterwards, kicking at the bodies on the ground before he finally walks back towards them. He brushes past Adrian without really looking at him and comes straight to Nicky. “Get your scrawny ass over here,” he says. He reaches a hand out to wrap it around the back of his kid brother’s neck. He pulls him into something like a hug and then keeps his arm around his shoulders, guiding him towards the exit. “I wasn’t scared, Frankie,” Nicky tells him, looking up at his brother with wide eyes. “You now that, right?” Adrian takes Nicky’s place by her side, wrapping an arm around her waist and Evan isn’t sure which one of them needs it more. She’s trying to pretend that she isn’t dizzy and sore. She’s trying to ignore the burning setting into her skull and she pretends it’s not infection. The blood is thick and congealed on her face and it feels awful. It feels like she’s lost her damn eye and for all intents and purposes she might as well have. She doesn’t look at Tabitha or the bodies on the floor next to her. She doesn’t think that she used to be a girl or that the freaks on the floor might have been children once. If she thinks about those things then she’ll realize just how close they all came to dying because not one of them has a fucking gun and half of them are useless and hurt. “I don’t know,” Evan tells Adrian just as quietly. He looks over at her and it’s hard to see with the flickering lights but she can see the concern on his face. She just shakes her head again and looks away through the darkened tunnel. A part of her is scared that CC’s just going to be gone, lost in the shadows somewhere and they’re never going to see him again. She tries to believe that’s not true but she doesn’t know for sure and that bothers her more than anything. She doesn’t understand what happened down here. “Do you think Grace is his wife?” Adrian asks her. The words echo louder than she thinks he meant for them to, bouncing off the walls next to them. Frankie snorts ahead of them but he doesn’t turn around and he doesn’t say another word about it. “I don’t know,” Evan tells him again. “I don’t think he does either.” She limps after her brothers through the tunnels and she’s happy when the staircase they came in through becomes visible around the corner. Relief settles into her bones when she sees CC sitting by the stairs and she is surprised at the second emotion she feels when she sees him. She isn’t sure what it is but it feels familiar, like when she saw Nicky sitting tied to a chair or what she feels every time Adrian starts to cough and gag next to her. It is worry and concern and fear. Ahead of her Frankie pauses to look down at the man and she doesn’t know what her oldest brother is thinking. He clears his throat and it brings CC’s gaze up towards him. She can’t tell what he’s thinking either but he looks lost and miserable for a moment. “You coming son?” Frankie asks him. CC nods his head and starts to push himself to his feet. Frankie snorts and he doesn’t wait for the man to stand up. He grins and kicks at his feet but she can’t tell if her brother’s actually mad or not. She can’t read him at all. Adrian moves forward, his hand leaving Evan’s waist so that he can reach a hand down towards CC. The man looks up in confusion before his hand stretches out to take it, letting Adrian pull him to his feet. He doesn’t waver but Evan reaches out a hand to steady him anyway, fingers curling around his shoulder and holding him upright. He looks at her and she tries to smile but it’s a little crooked and uneven. She doesn’t know what prompts it. Maybe because she can still hear him growling and crying in her head and he’s killed for all of them more than a few times now. Either way she reaches forward and pulls him into a quick hug. He rests his forehead against her shoulder and she runs a hand along his shoulders. Adrian is still next to her and he reaches out to squeeze his upper arm in a comforting motion. “You okay?” he asks him. He sounds uncertain and concerned and Evan lets him pull CC back so that he can look at his face. He’s got that smooth, unemotional poker face back on but she’s starting to doubt it. There are cracks around the edges and she can see them better now than she could before. “I am fine,” CC tells them. She doesn’t think that he means the words. Then Frankie’s fist is slamming loudly into the wooden door and Evan lifts her head. “Hey,” he shouts through the surface. “We killed the fucking spawn of Satan or whatever so do you think you could let us the fuck out now?” Silence meets his request and she can hear her brother sigh. He leans an arm against the door and balls his other hand into a fist before he starts to slam it into the wooden surface again. When no one answers him he starts doing it repetitively like he did in the cell, just bashing his knuckles against the surface. He keeps doing it until they start bleeding but Frankie doesn’t notice. “Alright,” someone finally shouts from the other side. Frankie’s fist stills and she can hear quiet footsteps behind the door. She doesn’t recognize the voice as the preachers but then she didn’t have much time to listen to any of them talk. She still can’t hear well, the right ear still muffled and hard to hear out of. She leans her head against Adrian’s shoulder and closes her good eye to try and listen. They grow closer but she hears them pause just outside the door. “How do we know she’s dead?” “Fuck,” Frankie snarls. “I’m talking to you, ain’t I? If she were alive do you think I’d be talking to you?” There’s another moment of silence and then the man’s voice again. “Maybe you’re infected.” “Jesus fucking Christ,” Frankie curses. He spits the words onto the ground and then he kicks at the door. It rattles under the blow and she can hear the footsteps retreat slightly. “Listen you stupid shit, I ain’t infected. I wouldn’t be talking to you if I was, because I would be too busy trying to claw through this fucking door and eat your stupid tongue out of your god damned mouth.” No one answers for a long time and she doesn’t hear the sound of footsteps. Maybe they left when Frankie was cursing at them and next to her she hears Adrian sigh. “Nice going, Frankie,” he says dryly. “Guess you better get on digging through the door.” “I’ll kick the fucking thing down first,” Frankie answers him. He takes a step back and starts to do as he threatened, slamming his boot against the wooden surface. He grips the wall and kicks away at it, the blows loud and booming. The door rattles and shakes but it isn’t breaking and the thing is so thick that she thinks even Frankie will take days to kick it down. She snorts a laugh anyway, leaning against the wall next to her. The world is spinning around her and she realizes there is sweat running down the back of her neck. She feels the back of Adrian’s hand press against her forehead and then he curses. She isn’t sure why but it’s enough to make her crack open an eye. He’s frowning at her and then he lifts his head to look at their oldest brother. “Frankie,” he calls. The man doesn’t stop but he glances over his shoulder. Adrian nods his head at her. “You still have the drugs?” Her brother snorts and then pulls out the plastic bottle and tosses it back to Adrian. He catches it easily, before twisting the top off and dumping one of the pills out into his hand. Evan makes a face at him but she takes it, swallowing it dry. “Quiet down in there,” the man finally shouts. “We’re getting the preacher.” Frankie laughs and he keeps kicking at the door. “Good,” he yells back. “I’d like to have another word with him.” He pulls his leg back and slams it against the wood again. It is loud and repetitive and violent and Evan sighs, slumping against the wall. Adrian leans against the stone surface next to her and CC follows suit, crossing his hands in front of him as he waits patiently. She can’t imagine what’s going on in his head right now. She’d ask but she’s not sure he would tell her anyway. She doesn’t know why she cares, but she’s curious and they should know if he’s remembering things. They don’t know the man he used to be. Maybe he was the kind of man that could turn on them. That thought chills her but she doesn’t ignore it because they don’t know for sure and they won’t until it’s too late. She turns her gaze to Nicky and he’s prodding gingerly at the wounds on his chest. He makes a face at them and when he realizes the attention is on him he sticks his tongue out at her. “It doesn’t hurt.” Evan snorts out a laugh and rests her head against the wall. “Looks like it does,” she tells her kid brother. He grins and she returns the smile, shaking her head and looking up at the light dancing across the ceiling. The footsteps on the other side are quiet and then she hears the priest’s voice, muffled by the wooden door and the pounding of Frankie’s boot. He stills and leans both hands against the door. “I’m here,” the priest says again. She can hear the hesitation in his voice and then his voice comes, louder and a little shaky. “You say the child of Satan is dead?” “Fucking A right she is,” Frankie tells him. “Now let us the hell out of here.” The man is quiet and the door doesn’t open. She sees Frankie’s lip curl at that. “She is the child of the devil and you travel with the child of the devil,” the priest says after a moment. “How do I know this isn’t a trap set by Satan to destroy the children of God?” She is surprised when CC pushes off the wall next to her. He walks towards the door and stands next to Frankie. “My number is different from hers,” CC says. He is calm and composed and she has to bite her lip to keep from laughing at how seriously he says the next words. “And I have been told that I am to be a saving grace. How do you know that I was not sent by God instead?” Frankie ducks his head and he shakes his head, slapping CC on the shoulder. The next moment the priest opens the door. © Copyright 2011 .Wolfie., Wenston, (known as GROUP). All rights reserved. GROUP has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. |
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